


Team Rogers

by KC_95



Series: Bad Influence [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Steve Rogers is still a mischievous little shit, and so are his kids
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-28
Updated: 2020-07-13
Packaged: 2020-07-23 12:43:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 32,434
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20008498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KC_95/pseuds/KC_95
Summary: Fifteen years ago, Steve Rogers broke you out of prison and you went on the run together. Eventually, you'd changed your names and settled down to live the domestic life Steve never believed he could have.But that was before the Red Skull bombed Brooklyn, and the American people began crying out for Steve's return. You couldn't have been happier to go back (partly to fight Red Skull, partly to mess with Tony's security systems again), but the events left you with an awful lot to explain to your children - 'your father's a superhero, your mother's a wanted criminal, you're part super soldier and no, you absolutely may not use your powers to fight Hydra.'Unfortunately, the entire Rogers family has a bit of difficulty following instructions.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Wow, I feel like I've been working on getting this done forever. Originally I planned to post the first chapter after I'd finished the entire draft, but it's been a really long time and I'm tired of waiting, so here. Have a chapter.
> 
> (Also, if I post this I can't keep re-writing the first four chapters over and over instead of actually writing the rest. Apparently I'm a perfectionist now.)
> 
> So this chapter is more of an introduction to the story, then we're going to go back and see what Steve and Robin have actually been doing all this time. Enjoy!

Tony Stark was waiting.

He sat in his office, leaning back in his chair. His fingers gently tapped on the top of his desk. 

News footage played in the background, showing the streets of Brooklyn that had fallen victim to a terrorist attack. Tony hated that image. If he’d just been there sooner, maybe he could have stopped it.

But this wasn’t a time for regrets. Because this particular attack wasn’t about race or religion. No, this was personal.

The news footage changed, this time showing the Red Skull. The Avengers hadn’t known he was behind the bombing at the time, but he had begun live streaming his speech quickly after the event. 

“Captain America,” his voice spoke through the screen, “Fought for your freedom. And where did that get you? Nowhere. You still war with each other, still harm one another, and where is he now? He abandoned you. Left you to fend for yourselves. It’s been fifteen years. I think we all know now that he’s not coming back. He cannot - will not - bring you peace and prosperity. But I can give you that.”

“F.R.I.D.A.Y., turn that off, will you?” Tony had already heard the speech. The Skull would go on to proclaim himself the world’s ideal leader, request the people of America to join Hydra... Basically exactly what Tony expected of the villain he’d once believed dead.

Bucky Barnes wanted to go after the Skull immediately. Tony had convinced the Avengers to wait. This situation was unfortunate, but it had potential. The moment Tony saw the Red Skull’s face, he had begun planning. Now his plan was in motion, he just had to wait.

“Boss,” F.R.I.D.A.Y. announced, “Mr. Parker and Mr. Leeds are on video call for you.”

“Excellent,” Tony smiled, “Bring them up.”

He grinned as the two boys - men, now, Tony still had to correct himself sometimes - appeared on the screen in front of him. “Well, well, well, if it isn’t Spider-Man and the anonymous founder of CapWatch.”

Ned shifted his gaze to Peter, “You told him about that?”

“He already knew,” Peter replied.

“Someone set up a website dedicated to following Captain America as the police chased him around the globe. I was curious, so I did some digging. You should be proud of yourself, Ned. I happen to know that website was a big help to Steve back when he was on the run. And if we play our cards right, it could help us again. So, what’s the activity like?”

“The website’s gone crazy,” Ned explained. “I haven’t seen this much activity since Cap dropped off the map completely. There’s a bunch of different theories about where he is, if he’ll come back, someone even suggested that he is the Red Skull.”

Tony snorted, “That’s ridiculous. Is there any mention of a hero named Nomad?”

“Yeah, there’s an entire forum thread dedicated to proving that Nomad is Cap’s new persona.”

“Keep an eye on that, will you?” Tony requested. “If we delete it now it will be suspicious, but if someone finds proof, the Fed’s will be on him in no time.”

Peter’s eyes widened. “You mean Nomad actually is—“

“I cannot confirm or deny that, Peter,” Tony responded with a smile. “If the police find out who started this site, they might come asking questions.”

“Right,” Peter nodded.

“Peter said you had a job for me,” Ned began.

“I do,” Tony nodded. “I want you to tell your members that I’ve been in contact with you, and that I’m working to get Steve back in the country. I’ve created two online petitions to try and get the charges against him and Robin dropped. I’ve already sent you the links. Get them shared as much as you can.”

“Do you really think this will work?” Ned questioned.

“If it doesn’t work now, it’s probably never going to,” Tony replied. “So let’s make it work.”

“I’ll get right on it, sir,” Ned told him.

Tony nodded and shut off the feed.

“F.R.I.D.A.Y.,” Tony spoke, “I was thinking I might do some light reading while I wait for a representative from the government to arrive.”

“What would you like to read, boss?”

“The United States Constitution,” Tony replied. “Can you find me the part about pardoning criminals? I’d like to know exactly what the deal is.”

“I have loaded several files up on your StarkPad.”

“Thank you.”

Tony read for a few hours, having F.R.I.D.A.Y. update him on the progress of the petitions as he read. Until F.R.I.D.A.Y. finally announced, “Mr. Jones from the Office of the Pardon Attorney is here to see you.”

“Ah,” Tony grinned. “Excellent, send him in.”

“Mr. Stark,” the man greeted, “I’m—“

“Mr. Jones,” Tony finished with a smile. “Please, take a seat. I’ve been expecting you.”

“You have?”

“Yes, you’re here to discuss returning Steve Rogers to America, yes?”

“I have the documentation right here with me,” he placed an envelope on the desk. 

Tony leant forward to open the file.

“Signed by the president himself. Steve Rogers has been cleared of all his crimes.”

“Well that’s nice,” Tony shoved the document back into the envelope. “Really, it’s a nice gesture. But I’m afraid he won’t accept this.”

The man stared at Tony. “I’m sorry?”

“Where do you think Cap’s been all these years? Hiding out in a cave?”

“I… I’m afraid I don’t understand.”

Tony smiled and stood, walking towards his bookshelf. “Cap’s gone domestic. Wife, kids, the whole picket fence deal.” Tony picked a framed photograph off the bookshelf. It featured a bearded Steve holding a common household hammer above his head. He had lifted his daughter up with his left arm, and she clung to his side. She was dressed as the Black Widow, and aiming a toy gun towards her brother. The boy wore an Iron Man helmet, but was using a web shooter to fight off his father and sister.

It was an old photo, but it always brought a smile to Tony’s face.

He passed the frame to Mr. Jones. before sitting on the desk, facing the man. “You really think he’s going to leave that behind?”

Mr. Jones stared down at the photo. “You knew where Captain Rogers was this whole time?” he questioned.

“Not the whole time. I’ve known since he settled down.”

“Why didn’t you tell anyone?”

“Well, Captain America may be an ass, but Steve Rogers is a friend. And that man right there? That’s all Steve. He left the shield here in the Compound, you know.”

“I could have you arrested for harbouring a fugitive.”

“You could,” Tony agreed. “But if you arrest me, you’re going to have to arrest the rest of the Avengers as well,” Tony grinned. “There’s another copy of that particular photo in the recreation room - we’re all quite fond of it. Do you really want to tell the public that there’s no one to fight Red Skull because the entire Avengers team has been arrested?”

Mr. Jones sighed and looked back at the picture. “Where’s the mother?”

“Behind the camera,” Tony replied. 

His eyes flicked up to meet Tony’s. “I don’t suppose Captain Rogers happened to meet a nice young woman while on the run and settle down, did he?”

Tony smiled. “You know exactly who took that photo, Mr. Jones.”

He set the photo on Tony’s desk and leaned back. “And this is the part where you tell me that if we want Captain America back, we need to make arrangements for Robin as well.”

“You’re a smart man,” Tony stood to walk back behind his desk. 

“We can’t pardon Robin for her crimes.”

Tony grinned. “You can’t pardon Steve for his crimes, either. I just read the documents, a requirement for a presidential pardon is good behaviour while in the prison system. Steve was never in a prison. In fact, isn’t one of the charges against him for resisting arrest?” Tony dropped into his desk chair. “Robin, on the other hand, was a model prisoner before she broke out. So theoretically, don’t you have more grounds to pardon her?”

Mr. Jones stared, no doubt attempting to formulate a response to Tony’s argument. Eventually he swallowed and leant forward, “Do you realise what you’re doing right now, Mr. Stark? This could be your one chance to get Captain America back on your team. If you don’t compromise here, you’ll be fighting Red Skull without him.”

Tony shrugged. “Okay. You can see yourself out.”

Mr. Jones raised his eyebrows.

Tony smiled. “You really think we need Steve to fight the Red Skull? There’s another super soldier upstairs right now that would absolutely love to get his hands on him. There’s other people we could call in as well. Thor, Captain Marvel, the Guardians of the Galaxy… The Avengers don’t need Steve for this. America does. So I suggest that America does the compromising.”

“I don’t have the power to do what you ask, Mr. Stark.”

“Then maybe you should talk to someone who does.”

The man across from Tony sighed and stood up, turning to leave.

“And Mr. Jones,” Tony called.

Jones turned around.

“Have you checked CapWatch today? I recommend you do. Might help sway the decision for your office.”

“I’ll keep it in mind.”

Tony sighed once Jones left and leant back on his chair, singing his legs up to rest his feet on his desk. 

“Boss,” F.R.I.D.A.Y. spoke, “Are you sure that was the right decision?”

“Definitely,” Tony replied. “He’ll be back.”

Two hours later, Tony received a phone call. 

“What would you say if we agreed to reduce Robin to a suspended sentence?” the man on the other end of the line asked.

“Mr. Jones,” Tony grinned, “I think we have a deal.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, I wanted to say a massive thank you for your comments and kudos on the last chapter. I honestly didn't expect such a big reaction straight away, and it definitely got me motivated to keep working on the rest of the story! So thank you all so much!
> 
> Now, this chapter is designed to catch you up on everything that happened between Little Bird and this story, so hold on tight - it's a long one and there's going to be a lot of time jumps. Have fun!
> 
> (Side note for those of you who are like me and are bothered by incorrect spelling and grammar: The way I spell 'Mum' in this story is the Australian spelling. A part of me wanted to go with the American spelling (Mom) because the MCU is set in America, but I just can't bring myself to do it.)

_Fifteen Years Ago_

You couldn’t help a small smile as you wandered through the streets of Paris. Your hands were shoved in your pockets as you walked, taking in everything you could. The smells, the noises, the people, the giant tower hovering over you. 

You briefly wondered if it would be considered disrespectful to climb the Eiffel Tower. Not like the tourists who were currently making their way up the stairs, you were considering climbing the outside of the tower. Late at night when no-one else was around. You and Steve had already climbed the Sydney Opera House illegally, maybe you could start climbing every landmark you came across.

Speaking of which, where was Steve? He’d left a while ago now. You pulled your hand out of your pocket to check your watch, and froze when you saw the flashing of your ring. You quickly ducked into a small alcove and set the ring to stealth mode before checking the notification. 

When you saw it was from CapWatch, you immediately began calling Steve on an old flip phone stored in your pocket.

“I’m nearly there,” he answered. 

“Hurry up. We’ve been noticed.”

“Alright, I’m here. Where are you?”

You glanced out of the alcove to search for Steve. When you spotted him, you started moving. “I see you. Give me a second.” 

You flipped the phone shut and stowed it back into your pocket as you approached Steve. He smiled sheepishly at you when he saw you. 

“What did you do?” you asked as you leant forward to inspect the paper bag he was holding. 

“I got baguettes,” he offered.

“And they smell amazing,” you replied. “But what did you actually do?”

“I told you, I got baguettes.”

“And?”

Steve sighed. “And there was a man holding a kid at gunpoint, so I may have interfered.”

You smiled, shaking your head at him. “Do you think you could learn to interfere without making it so obvious that the entire F.B.I. high-tails it to wherever we are?”

He shrugged.

You took his hand and began walking through the crowd. “If you’re going to keep saving people, then I might start stealing again.”

“That’s different and you know it. What did CapWatch say?”

“We’re in Paris, feds are on their way, local police are looking for us, and the French members are already calling in false sightings of us.”

Steve grinned, “If I ever meet the kid who runs that website, I’m going to declare them an honorary Avenger or something.”

You smiled. “You got the postcard?”

“Right here,” Steve confirmed. “Think we can find ourselves a friend?”

“Already did,” you glanced pointedly to a child wearing a Captain America t-shirt and a CapWatch wristband. 

Steve chuckled and the two of you approached the mother first. Steve spoke a few words to her in French before kneeling down to talk to the wide-eyed and suddenly very excited kid. Steve passed over the postcard and hi-fived the child before returning to you.

You laughed as the child started running towards where the police were arriving across the street, tugging the mother along. 

“Where to next?” 

You shrugged. “Venice sounds fun.”

“Venice it is,” Steve took your hand and grinned.

You heard the police start yelling behind you just as the two of you took off at a sprint.

* * *

_Fourteen Years Ago_

“Do you ever think we made a mistake?” Steve asked, fingers lacing through yours as the two of you strolled down the beach. 

“You mean ten minutes ago? Absolutely. Biggest mistake of my life.”

Steve chuckled. “We can always annul.”

“Oh, you’re not getting rid of me that easily,” you grinned. “Nice try, though.”

Steve shook his head with a smile. “I just feel like you deserve so much more than this. There should be friends and family and a ridiculously overpriced dress. Celebrations, dances, way too much food and alcohol. And you got a beach in Greece,” he gestured to the scenery around you.

You laughed. “I got you, Steve. I don’t care about the rest. And really, I’m the one who stole millions of dollars, so I don’t think I get to complain about getting married on the run. Besides, this is a really nice beach.”

“We just got married,” Steve spoke with a smile, “And I’m wearing shorts and a t-shirt.”

“And you are the most handsome groom I’ve ever seen,” you replied. Your eyes flicked up to meet his. “Do you think you made a mistake when you broke me out of prison?”

“Of course not.”

“And did you make a mistake when you went on the run with me?”

“Not at all.”

“There you go, then,” you smiled, squeezing his hand.

You fell into silence as you walked, before Steve eventually asked, “Want to send a wedding invitation to the feds?”

“With the time and place we actually got married on it?”

“Obviously. Something along the lines of ‘Hey feds, come to our wedding. Actually we already got married. Sorry about the late notice. But this is where we were.’ And then we wait and see if they come running to Greece.”

You grinned. “Absolutely I do. Let’s go.”

* * *

_Thirteen Years Ago_

You felt sick. Really, properly sick. You paced through the hotel room, trying to quell your nerves and hoping you weren’t actually about to throw up.

“Honey?” Steve opened the door to the room and stepped inside, “We need —" he stopped when he noticed the empty box on the bed. He picked it up, glancing at the package. “You’re pregnant?”

“I don’t know, Steve, that’s why I’m taking a test.” You continued pacing.

Steve stared. “With... with my baby?”

You stopped pacing send him a look. “No. It’s Tony’s.”

“Wha... But... how...” Steve spluttered, eyes widening.

“Of course it’s yours, you imbecile!” You cried. “Do you even know how babies are made?”

Steve smirked, eyes gleaming, “Maybe you should show me.”

You grabbed a cushion from the bed and threw it at him.

Steve chuckled as you continued pacing. 

“Hey,” Steve stepped forward, placing his hands on your shoulders, “Calm down, sweetheart. We don’t even know if you’re pregnant yet.”

You let out a long breath, “I know... I just... We haven’t planned for this, Steve.”

Steve smiled. “When’s the last time we planned something?”

You considered. “When we broke out of prison.”

“Exactly. We’ve just been doing whatever we feel like for the last two years. So if we suddenly decide we’re going to have a baby, then we’ll have a baby. We can make it work.”

You cracked a smile. “We probably should have been more careful.” 

Steve snorted, “I certainly have no regrets.”

You couldn’t help but laugh, shaking your head at him.

“Also... I really don’t want to put any extra stress on you right now, but—"

“What did you do?”

“Doesn’t matter. The F.B.I.’s downstairs.”

“Dammit, Steve!” You quickly ducked into the en-suite to grab the pregnancy test and shove it in your back pocket. When you returned Steve had already gathered your things in a backpack and left a postcard on the bed. He opened up the window and looked at you.

You swiftly ducked through the window and grabbed onto the side of the hotel, beginning to climb around the side. Steve soon followed.

You were half way down the building when Steve stopped you. “Whoah, Wait!”

You froze, “What?”

“You probably shouldn’t be climbing things like this if you’re pregnant.”

You rolled your eyes. “Steve, now is not the time.”

“I’m serious,” he called as you continued climbing. “What if it harms the baby?”

“We don’t even know if there is a baby!”

“Well I don’t like to take unnecessary risks, okay?”

“Are you kidding me? Mr ‘I’m going to jump out of a plane without a parachute and then fight off an entire army by myself and then I’ll just blow up this building while I’m inside’ doesn’t want to take unnecessary risks?”

“You made up that last one,” he accused.

“My point still stands,” you landed lightly on the ground, waiting for him to land next to you before you took his hand and walked along a road to find a crowded street. 

You blended into the crowds quickly, keeping close to Steve and making sure you weren’t being followed. 

“But really, all this running and hiding and climbing can’t be good for a baby,” Steve murmured as you moved.

“Steve, I have no intention of raising a baby on the run. We’ve already got plenty of documentation - fake IDs, passports... We can get Tony to pull a few strings and settle down pretty much anywhere we want.”

Steve tugged on your arm, and the two of you quickly stepped onto a bus that had pulled up nearby. Steve passed the driver some money and the two of you sat down in an empty seat. 

“You really think we could pull that off? Just settle down somewhere and hope no-one finds us?” Steve spoke quietly, despite the bus being mostly empty.

“We’ve been running for two years, Steve. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had the time of my life, but it is getting tiring. And we’re running out of new countries to visit.”

Steve smiled. “Yeah, I know what you mean.“ He glanced at you, taking you in with his eyes. “Is it weird that I kind of want you to be pregnant?”

You shrugged. “I don’t know. Did you ever want kids?”

“Before the war, I did. After the ice it just seemed too unattainable, I guess. I stopped thinking about it.”

You nodded in agreement. “I always figured kids would be off the table while I was a wanted criminal.”

“You’re still a wanted criminal,” Steve pointed out.

“So are you. That didn’t stop us from getting married, though, did it?”

Steve laughed. “That hasn’t stopped us from doing anything.”

“Exactly,” you smiled. “Are you ready to learn our fate?”

Steve nodded. “Let’s do it.”

You slowly pulled the test from your back pocket and glanced at the plastic. 

“Well?” Steve questioned.

“It’s positive,” you told him.

“We’re having a baby?”

“It’s the first test, it could be a false positive. But... It looks like we’re having a baby.”

Steve grinned, “We’re having a baby!” He whispered excitedly.

“Yeah.”

He pulled you into his arms, squeezing you tightly, and kissed you lightly on the cheek. “I know you’re not really meant to tell anyone until you’re certain there’s a baby, but given the situation I think we might need to make some phone calls.”

You tugged a phone out of your pocket and passed it to Steve. “Go on then.”

Steve dialled a number from memory and put the phone to his ear, smiling like a child as he spoke. “Tony? I know it’s been a long time. We’ve been busy... I know, we already left... yes, Tony, how do you think we’ve made it this far?... Tony stop, there’s a reason I called, alright?” Steve looked at you, smile widening. “Well, we have some news...”

* * *

_Twelve Years Ago_

Ten hours. It took you an entire ten hours to give birth - twice - and you were absolutely done. A part of you wanted to fall asleep right here, right now.

You were sitting on the bed in your new home, legs under the covers and with your back against the headboard and your side leaning into Steve. In your arms was the tiny form of your newborn daughter. 

Steve smiled happily, gazing down at the baby boy in his arms. “They’re so small,” he whispered.

You nodded your agreement, snuggling closer to your husband and closing your eyes. “I’m so tired,” you muttered, eyes closing.

Steve chuckled, “I’m not surprised.”

Your smile grew as you heard a new voice, opening your eyes to see that your video call had connected and Tony had appeared on the screen in front of you. He had a screwdriver in hand, gazing down at what appeared to be a piece of the Iron Man armour and mumbling. 

“What’s up, Birdie? Cap getting on your nerves?”

“I’m right here, Tony,” Steve smiled.

“Hush. I’m talking to your wife. I can’t believe you two got married without us, by the way. I sure as hell hope you tell us when your baby is born, because —,”

“About that,” you grinned, “There’s two babies.”

“Two babies?” Tony looked up, eyes widening as he looked at you. “Avengers!” Tony suddenly yelled. “Get your butts in this room right now!” He dropped his screwdriver to the bench and approached the screen. “My gosh, they are adorable.”

Natasha poked her head through the door behind Tony, “What’s going on?”

“We have junior captains,” Tony announced.

“What?” Natasha ran through the room excitedly towards the screen, grinning as she looked at you. 

“Why is F.R.I.D.A.Y. going on about babies?” Sam questioned as he entered the room. 

Natasha grinned and beckoned him over, standing him in front of the screen.

“Woah, hold on, you said you were having a baby,” Sam pointed with a smile, “Who’s is the other one?”

“Well as it turns out, you can have two babies in one pregnancy,” Steve responded. “It’s a miracle.”

You chuckled lightly, waiting as the rest of the Avengers slowly appeared on the other side of the screen. You discussed the birth with Natasha while Steve became distracted playing with your son’s tiny fingers.

Clint was the last Avenger to arrive, and he grinned widely as he entered the room and called “Alright Avengers, who’s ready to give me your money?”

“What?” you questioned, looking at Steve.

“We’re going to need to know the names of your children,” Tony smiled. “And make them good, will you? I believe the pot is currently sitting at two-thousand dollars.”

“You took bets on the name of our children,” Steve concluded with a laugh.

“So come on,” Sam urged, “Tell us their names.”

You smiled, and looked down at your daughter, “This is Peggy.”

“Yes!” Natasha cried, “Pay up, losers!”

“Not yet,” Tony interrupted. “What about the other one?”

Steve grinned. “This is James.”

“Ha!” Bucky held his hands above his head in victory. “Take that, Wilson!”

Sam sighed and pulled out his wallet. He grabbed out a few bills and passed them to Bucky.

“Now, on a slightly less important note,” Tony turned to you, “Have you heard anything from Bruce yet?”

“We’re still waiting,” Steve explained. “The medical doctor says that they’re both perfectly healthy. The science doctor wanted to dig a little deeper.”

“I’m done, Steve,” Bruce announced, entering your bedroom. “Hey guys,” he spoke to the screen in front of you.

There were a few greetings from the Avengers before Bruce turned to you and Steve. “Okay, so your doctor’s right - there’s no sign of any of Steve’s pre-serum ailments. The super-serum, however, seems to be hereditary. It’s definitely in their bloodstream, but it’s not as concentrated as Steve’s. So they’ll be stronger, faster and more agile than an average human, but not to the extent Steve is. Basically, they’re half super-soldier.”

“Makes sense,” you nodded. 

“Yeah, I haven’t gotten to the surprising bit yet.”

You looked at Bruce expectantly.

“Both of them carry the mutant gene.”

“What?” You questioned.

“So they’re going to have powers?” Steve asked.

“No idea,” Bruce closed the file he’d been holding and placed it on the bedside table. “The mutant gene often stays dormant. They could just be carriers with no powers. Or…”

“We have super-soldier super-powered babies,” you concluded.

Clint snorted. “Have fun raising those.”

“Especially if they take after their parents,” Sam added.

Natasha nodded. “Super-soldier super-powered babies with a tendency to get into trouble.”

“Good luck finding a babysitter,” Tony chuckled.

You smiled and looked down at your children. “We’ll make it work.”

Steve nodded, “Yes we will. Now, I hate to cut this short, but I think the new mother over here needs some sleep.”

“Yeah, she really does,” you nodded.

“Of course,” Tony replied, “But you better send us pictures.”

“We will,” you promised.

Just as Tony was about to press the button to end the call, you heard Sam’s voice.

“I bet you guys ten bucks that the girl can fly.”

* * *

_Eleven Years Ago_

You were absolutely exhausted.

You had finally managed to get your kids to sleep - it had been a tough job ever since Peggy had worked out how to levitate herself out of her crib. James seemed to think that Peggy levitating was absolutely hilarious, so you had one child levitating, the other laughing, and it would usually take you at least an hour to get them both to sleep. It was slowly killing you.

And that was before you added in the fact that Steve was meant to be home two hours ago. Probably getting himself into trouble - again.

You really couldn’t complain too much though. It wasn’t as if you didn’t know exactly what you were getting into when you married Steve Rogers.

Despite your desperate need to get some sleep, you flicked on the small radio in your laundry and got to work. The dirty clothes had been piling up for a while now, and it was impossible to do when the kids were awake.

The radio was meant to be background noise, but when they announced breaking news about a new local superhero, you couldn’t help but listen in. At least that explained where Steve had been.

By the time Steve got home, the radio had changed to music, but you were still busy in the laundry. You stood to fold a shirt when Steve entered the room, stepping up behind you to wrap his arms around your waist and press a kiss to the top of your head.

“Hey there, Nomad,” you greeted.

You could feel Steve’s muscles tense when he froze.

You turned around to face him and smiled. “Did you really think I wouldn’t know?”

He sighed. “Sorry. I just—”

“Couldn’t stand by and do nothing, I know. But get a mask, will you? We don’t need anyone following you home to your children.”

“You’re not going to tell me to stop?”

“Steve, your drivers license might say your name is ‘Steve Adams’ right now, but I know who I married. And as long as the feds aren’t going to work out who you are, then…” you shrugged. “But you need to wear a mask.”

Steve nodded, then leant forward to press his forehead against yours. “You’re the best.”

“I know.”

* * *

_Eight Years Ago_

“No.”

“But—"

“Steve, you cannot follow your kids everywhere they go.”

“But Hydra—"

“Have no idea where you are, otherwise they would’ve been here by now.”

“But what if they do find out?”

“You can’t be their bodyguard, Steve. Having their Dad follow them around now might be cool, but I guarantee by the time they’re thirteen they will hate you for it.”

“But—"

“Steve,” you sighed, “I know you want them to be safe. I do too. But we can’t sacrifice their freedom to make that happen.”

Steve lowered his head as he considered your words. “What if we homeschooled them?”

“Great idea. You can teach them American history and I’ll teach them how to hack into Tony Stark’s bank account.”

Steve sighed. “I just... if anything happened to them...”

“I know, Steve. What if we just taught them to look after themselves?”

“You think I should teach them to fight?”

“Wouldn’t that be better than never allowing them to leave the house?“

“They’re four.”

“Yeah, they’re also super-powered super soldiers. Really, Steve, Peggy could kick a man in the face if she jumped. And I don’t know exactly what James can do, but last time I checked the average two year old doesn’t knock over a wall when they sneeze.”

“That was one time,” Steve responded. 

“Which is a damn good thing, otherwise we might not have a house anymore.”

Steve frowned. “What about his asthma?”

“Did your asthma ever stop you from fighting?”

“That’s different.”

“Yeah,” you laughed, “Asthma is the only illness James has that would get him rejected from the army. How many did you have?”

“But...”

“Steve. You can’t protect them forever. Teach them to fight or don’t, either way, they will want control over their own lives at some point.”

He sighed. “You’re right. I know you are. I just want to protect them.”

“The best way to protect them is to be certain they can protect themselves. Now, are we going to keep arguing about this, or are you going to help me find a decent school for our children?”

* * *

_Six Years Ago_

You found Steve in the gym, trying his best to put a fist through his punching bag. He glanced up when you entered, then turned back to the bag.

With a smile, you slowly approached and placed your hands on his shoulders. “You need to relax.”

“I can’t,” he grumbled. “I hate this. I hate hiding away here and pretending there’s nothing wrong. I want to help.”

“If they need your help, they will call you,” you reminded him. “You know that.”

Steve grunted.

“Besides, it’s over.”

“What?”

“They won.”

Steve hesitated. “Oh.”

You smiled. “They’re doing fine without you, Steve. And like I said, if they need you, they will call.”

Steve let out a breath, and you felt his shoulders relax. 

“Now, come here, there’s something you should see.”

You took his hand and led him to the back porch. You grinned at the sight of your children. 

Peggy was dressed in a Black Widow costume, a toy gun in one hand. James, who wore an iron man helmet, attacked a tree with the spider-man web cartridge he wore on his wrist.

Steve turned to you, eyebrows raised. 

“They saw the Avengers fighting on the news and decided that they would like to join in. Peggy is now the Black Widow and James couldn’t choose between Iron Man and Spider-Man, so now he’s the Iron Spider.”

Steve smiled. “And the tree?”

“That’s Thanos.”

He laughed, watching his children.

“Dad!” Peggy yelled when she spotted him, “Come fight Thanos with us!” She ran to the porch to grab Steve’s hand.

“I don’t know, Peg,” Steve grinned. “Do the Avengers really need anymore heroes?”

“Come play, Dad,” James called excitedly. “You can be Thor!”

“Yes!” Peggy disappeared into the house for a moment and returned with a hammer, holding it out to Steve.

Steve laughed and took the hammer. “Alright. Let’s go get Thanos.”

You grinned as Steve picked up Peggy and charged towards the tree, holding the hammer above his head. Just as you lifted up your phone to snap a picture, Peggy yelled something about attacking the Iron Spider.

The result was a picture of Steve and Peggy turning on James, who quickly moved to defend himself with a grin.

You quickly sent the photo to the Avengers group chat and added a quick comment.

 **You:** _Stand down kids, the new Avengers got this._

 **Nat:** _That is beautiful_

**Tony:** _Is Steve supposed to be Thor?_

**You:** _Yep. The kids decided._

“Mum!” James’ cry drew you from the chat, “Help me!” He grabbed your hand and pulled you onto the lawn. “You can be Captain Marvel.”

“Yes! Come on, Mum,” Peggy called.

You laughed, and typed a final message.

 **You:** _Gotta go, I’ve just been nominated as Captain Marvel._

 **Clint:** _Good. Kick Thor’s ass._

You stowed your phone in your pocket before following your son onto the ‘battlefield’.

* * *

_Two Years Ago_

“Do we have to?” Peggy wined. 

“Yes,” Steve replied without hesitation.

“But—"

“Peggy,” Steve interrupted. “Your training is important.”

“But why?”

“She’s right, Dad,” James spoke softly. “Why do we have to train so much? Last week you attacked us while we were getting ready for school.”

“An attacker is not going to tell you they’re coming after you,” Steve reasoned. “I need to know you can defend yourselves when taken by surprise.”

“Who do you think is going to be coming after us, Dad?” Peggy asked. “Thanos?”

He sighed and met your eyes, silently pleading for help.

“Steve,” you stepped forward and placed a hand gently on his arm, “They’re right. As far as they’re concerned, there’s no reason for all of this training.”

“But you know,” he whispered.

“And they don’t.”

“Am I missing something?” Peggy questioned.

You nodded at Steve, and he sighed. “Can you two keep a secret?” he asked.

Peggy shrugged. “No one at school knows about my powers.”

“Good enough,” Steve decided. “Come on.”

The kids followed him through the house to your room, where Steve went to the wardrobe.

“Are your clothes trying to kill us?” Peggy asked.

Steve shook his head with a smile and slid back the false panel in the wardrobe to retrieve the Nomad suit. He quickly passed it to the kids, who glanced at each other, then down at the article of clothing.

“Isn’t this…” Peggy started.

“Nomad,” James finished. “Dad has Nomad’s outfit hidden in his wardrobe.”

You smiled and moved to sit on the bed, facing your children. “Your father has enemies. And if they ever find out who he is, those enemies will try to use us against him. He trains us so that if that happens, we can defend ourselves.”

“Dad’s a superhero,” Peggy deadpanned.

“Dad’s Nomad?” James questioned.

The two of them quickly turned to Steve, who smiled. “I’m Nomad. But I can’t be Nomad if I’m worried that the two of you could be in danger,” Steve knelt on the ground, looking up towards his children. “You are the most important people in my life, and if something happened to you because of me, I will never, ever forgive myself. I know that training is hard sometimes, but it’s really important to me that the people who hate me never touch you, and training you is the best way I know to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

“Oh,” Peggy whispered.

“So… It’s kind of like superhero training then,” James concluded.

“Exactly,” Steve smiled.

You watched as your kids eyed each other, and couldn’t help your smile when Peggy whispered, “Awesome.”

* * *

_One Day Ago_

You were brushing your teeth when Steve arrived in your bathroom and pulled his own toothbrush from the holder. 

“There you are,” you smiled, “You disappeared on me.”

“James needed help with his history homework,” Steve explained as he grabbed the toothpaste before he met your eyes. “Is he okay? He doesn’t seem quite himself.”

You shrugged as you rinsed your mouth. “Something’s definitely up, but he hasn’t told me what it is.”

“And you don’t have any theories?”

“Oh, I’ve got a theory,” you placed your toothbrush back as you spoke. “I’m pretty certain he’s crushing on his best friend.”

Steve hesitated, looking at you. “You mean that kid he had over last week?”

“That’s the one,” you turned and leaned against the bathroom sink to look at Steve.

“Really?” Steve questioned.

You chuckled, “It’s so cute that you can’t tell.”

“But… I thought his best friend was a boy.”

“His best friend _is_ a boy,” you confirmed with a smile.

Steve considered this for a moment before replying, “Oh.”

You laughed at the stunned look on Steve’s face. “Are you seriously going to tell me you haven’t noticed that James is just as interested as Peggy is when a hot guy appears on the TV?”

Steve blinked, “No, I guess I haven’t.” He shrugged and put his toothbrush away. “But wouldn’t he come and talk to us if he was having problems?”

“Sure, because we tell him all of our secrets.”

He raised his eyebrows at you.

“Face it, Steve. We can’t expect our kids to be completely open with us if we’re not going to be completely open with them.”

“Well, Peggy’s not hiding anything.”

“Only her report card.”

Steve’s mouth dropped open for a moment. “She didn’t fail did she?”

“She got all Cs.”

“Again?” Steve questioned. “But she’s so much smarter than that.”

You chuckled. “She’s doing it on purpose. She worked out that her grades will have no effect on her ability to become a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, so she’s decided to focus her energy on things that will. She is, however, making sure that she doesn’t fail, so at least there’s that.”

Steve sighed. “Sometimes I wish she wasn’t so much like her namesake.”

You chuckled. “I doubt that.”

Steve smiled, “You know something, though? When I picked them up from school the other day, none of the kids looked at me funny. No parents told me any wild stories about me being Nomad. They still don’t even know Peggy can levitate.”

You nodded. “You think it’s time to tell them?” 

“Well, we always said we’d tell them everything as soon as we believed they could keep it to themselves. I think they’re capable.”

“Yeah, I agree. But I think we should wait until after school tomorrow. That way they have a whole weekend to ask us questions before they have to go back to school.”

Steve chuckled. “They’re never going to believe us, you know.”

You shrugged. “We can always show them a few news articles, maybe some videos, get the Avengers on the phone if we really need to, they’ll come around.”

“Okay,” Steve nodded, “Then tomorrow afternoon, we tell them everything.”


	3. Chapter 3

“That’s what you’re wearing?” Steve questioned when Peggy entered the kitchen.

“It’s casual day,” Peggy reminded him.

“I’m aware of that,” Steve replied. “I’m more interested in your choice of T-shirt.”

Peggy looked down at her _Black Widow_ shirt. “What’s wrong with it?”

Steve smiled to himself. “Nothing.”

Peggy turned to look at you. 

“It looks good, Peg,” you told her with a smile.

Peggy shrugged and levitated to the top of the pantry to retrieve her favourite cereal.

“Mum, have you seen my inhaler?” James called from the hallway.

“It’s here,” you replied. 

He entered the kitchen and you pointed to the item on the bench. James stowed it inside his school bag before turning to Peggy, “Nice shirt."

“Thanks,” she smiled as she poured her cereal. “Dad doesn’t like it.”

“I never said that I didn’t like it,” Steve replied. “As far as role models go, you could do a lot worse than the Black Widow.”

“Exactly,” Peggy grinned. “So, when’s the beard coming off?”

“Peggy, I’ve told you,” Steve sighed, “I’m not shaving the beard.”

“Come on, Dad, I want to see what you look like without it! If you look like an elephant stomped on your face, you can just grow it back.”

You chuckled softly when Steve caught your eye. 

“Well, Peggy, truth is your mother and I are wanted by the U.S. government. We’ve been on the run for the last fifteen years. The beard is my disguise - if I shave it off, I run the risk of being recognised. And then we’ll both be sent to prison.”

The two kids stared at you for a moment, before Peggy groaned. “My god, Dad, that is the worse lie you’ve ever told,” she responded. “Seriously, it’s worse than the time you told us you served in World War II.”

“I did serve in World War II.”

“You’d have to be at least a hundred years old.”

“And who says I’m not?”

Peggy just shook her head and began eating her breakfast.

“What are you wanted for?” James asked softly.

“Assisting a prison break,” Steve replied proudly. “I broke your Mum out of jail.”

“Oh my god, it’s getting worse,” Peggy muttered.

“And what were you in jail for?” James asked you.

“Grand larceny in the first degree,” you told him.

“She robbed a bunch of rich people and gave their money to charities,” Steve explained. “The media called her Robin, after Robin Hood.”

Peggy rolled her eyes. “Do you practice this stuff first, or just come up with it on the fly?”

Steve just chuckled. “Come on, you two need to get going before you miss the bus. We’ll continue this discussion later.”

Both kids said goodbye to you before leaving the house, leaving you alone in the kitchen with your husband.

“She thinks I’m lying,” Steve told you.

You chuckled softly. “Do you blame her?”

“She used to like my stories.”

“Yes, when she was nine,” you smiled. “I’m afraid it’s time for you to accept it, Steve. You’re not cool anymore.”

You laughed at Steve’s pout and patted him gently on the shoulder. “It’s alright, just think about how shocked they’ll be when they realise that you’ve never actually lied to them at all.”

Steve smirked at that. “Oh, tonight is going to be fun.”

You laughed again, then became distracted by the ringing of Steve’s phone.

He glanced at the caller ID, then looked up at you. “It’s Tony.”

“Go on,” you encouraged. 

As Steve left the room to talk to Tony, you received a text.

 **Tony S:** _Don’t Let him do anything stupid_

 **You:** _?_

 **Tony S:** _Turn on the news_

With a frown, you wandered to the lounge and flicked on the TV. You were faced with images of Brooklyn. Buildings were burning, people were injured, and the Avengers were searching for survivors. You stared, wide eyed, as the Red Skull appeared, beginning a speech about how Captain America had abandoned his country.

That definitely explained why Tony had just called Steve. You sighed as you watched the scene on the TV. He’d struggled over the years whenever the Avengers faced a new threat and he couldn’t be there to help, but this? This would be taking it to a whole other level.

There was no way you were going to be able to keep him out of this fight. Not when the Red Skull had bombed his hometown and challenged him directly.

Steve returned a few minutes later, his face pale. You instantly turned off the news report and held out your arm to him. He slowly moved toward you, allowing you to wrap your arms around him. 

“Tony says he has a plan to get me back,” he murmured into your ear. “He wants me to wait.”

“And you want to run back to America right now,” you concluded.

“It just feels so wrong to sit here waiting. They need me right now.”

You pulled back slightly so that you could look into his eyes. “Wait for now, see if Tony’s plan works. If it doesn’t, we’ll just find a way to sneak you back in.”

“Tony told me not to do that.”

“And he told me not to let you, but when did we start listening to Tony?”

“This whole thing is a trap,” Steve muttered. “The Skull’s trying to draw me out.”

“So what’s the best option?” you asked. “Let the Avengers handle it, or walk into the trap?”

“Neither. Schmidt thinks he knows me because we fought in the forties, but I’ve changed a lot since then. I have to go back, I’ll just have to be careful. Not do anything reckless.”

You snorted. “Good luck with that, Captain. Do you know how to make a sensible decision?”

Steve chuckled softly. “Guess I’ll have to learn quickly.”

* * *

It took three hours. You’d both taken the day off work, and had been spending the last few hours watching the progress of petitions that had been started by CapWatch.

Steve breathed a sigh of relief when his phone started ringing again. 

He quickly switched the phone to speaker. “Talk to me, Tony.”

“Do I have news for you,” Tony replied. “Birdie there?”

“Right here,” you responded.

“Great. Congratulations, you’re both cleared to come back to the United States.”

Your jaw dropped open. “Are… are you serious?” You thought that Tony might be able to make arrangements for Steve, but you’d always assumed that you’d have to stay in hiding forever.

“I played the ‘Steve’s not coming back without his family’ card and it worked perfectly. I couldn’t get you the full pardon though, you’ll have to settle with a suspended sentence. Steve, however, has officially been pardoned of all his crimes.”

“That’s fantastic, Tony,” you replied.

“Yeah, but you’ll have to be on good behaviour. The moment you get so much as a parking ticket the fed’s are going to be locking you up for as long as they possibly can.”

“I’ve stayed put for thirteen years without incident, Tony, I think I can manage.”

“But… the kids,” Steve started. “We can’t just leave them here.”

“So bring them with you,” Tony responded. “We’ve got the room.”

“We can’t just move them to America either,” Steve replied.

“Why don’t we start with pulling them out of school?” you suggested. “We can talk this through with them and see what they want to do. At least until the Red Skull is dealt with. We can re-evaluate everything after.”

Steve nodded. “Okay let’s do that.”

“Great,” Tony spoke cheerfully. “I’m sending Maria your way to pick you up. You’ve got maybe an hour or so.”

“Thanks, Tony,” you responded before Steve ended the call and then looked at you with an amused smirk.

“What?” you questioned.

Steve’s smirk grew, “Peggy wants me to shave the beard.”

* * *

James blinked in surprise as Peggy dropped into the seat next to him.

“You need to see this,” she told him.

James looked briefly at her phone before turning back to his work. “You’re not allowed to use your phone in class.”

“James, no one is doing their work except you. Everyone’s far too distracted with the Avengers and Red Skull and Captain America. And you really need to see this.”

James looked around the classroom and had to admit that Peggy was right. Groups of students were talking excitedly about Captain America theories and where he might be. The teacher had taken the opportunity to start discussing the history of Captain America and the effect he had on the outcome of World War II to a group of interested students, having already given up on getting them to do the work that was originally set.

James sighed and looked at Peggy’s phone, eyes widening when he saw the picture in front of him. “Is that…”

“I’m pretty certain that’s Mum, yeah,” Peggy whispered.

Peggy had loaded up a news article with the headline _Robin Finally Behind Bars._

James took the phone and started scrolling through the article, “Holy shit,” he breathed. “Dad was telling the truth?”

“Keep reading, it gets better,” Peggy encouraged.

“In a surprise twist, it was revealed that Robin is in a relationship with Captain America,” James read aloud, eyes widening, “It is unknown how long they have been dating, or if Rogers knew of Robin’s identity before her arrest, but it has been confirmed that he does not intend to stop seeing Robin while she serves her sentence.”

James stopped reading and turned to look at Peggy. “Do you think that maybe Dad was telling the truth when he said he served in World War II?” he questioned.

“No,” Peggy responded. “We’d know, wouldn’t we?”

“I mean...” James considered. 

“Peggy, James,” the teacher suddenly interrupted. “You two have been called to the front office. Your Mum’s on her way to pick you up. Something about a family emergency.”

James looked at Peggy for a moment, before swiftly collecting his things and shoving them into his bag. Seconds later, the two of them were making their way through the school towards the office.

He suddenly had a lot of questions to ask his mother.


	4. Chapter 4

Your kids were waiting for you outside of the front office when you arrived. You smiled when you greeted them, and they stared at you like you’d grown an extra head.

“Everything okay?” You asked them.

“We have some questions,” Peggy started. “First of all, is Dad okay? Because family emergency makes me think Nomad ran into some problems.”

“He’s fine.”

“Okay, great,” James moved on, “Next question - what the hell, Mum?”

“What?” You asked.

“Well, you know, there’s this big deal with the terrorist attack in America going on,” Peggy started, “And people started talking about Red Skull and Captain America and where Cap disappeared to, and they said some things that made me a little suspicious about what Dad said this morning. So I googled it and you’re a freaking criminal!” She whispered the last words furiously.

“Oh,” you smiled, “I see. Let me go fill out these forms and we’ll talk on the way home, okay?”

The two kids nodded, and you quickly signed two forms at the front desk to pull your kids out of school before leading them to the car. Once you were settled in, you spoke again, “Okay, what do you need to know?”

“What the hell,” James repeated. 

You chuckled as you began the drive home. “Look, I got bored, thought I could do some good in the world by stealing money from rich idiots and giving it to people who really needed it. And you know what? It worked. I have a fan club now.”

“You got bored, so instead of joining a sports club or learning a musical instrument or something like most people, you turned to grand larceny?” Peggy questioned.

“Basically, yeah.”

“Okay, care to explain the video I found of you full on making out with Captain America?”

“I was getting arrested. He wanted it to be very public. So he caused a scene.”

“That’s just ridiculous!” Peggy cried.

“Well, it got a lot of people’s attention, so it worked.”

“Yeah, well, James has this crazy idea that Captain America is Dad.”

“Oh really?” You raised your eyebrows.

“Is it really that crazy, though?” James questioned. “We already know that he’s a superhero. Mum just confirmed that she is Robin the thief. We know that Captain America and Mum were in a relationship. Plus, it’s assumed that Captain America broke Mum out of prison, and Dad literally admitted to that this morning. Along with fighting in World War II.”

“Yeah,” Peggy agreed, “But...”

“But what?” James asked.

“But Dad’s a dork! Are you seriously going to try and tell me that America’s great superhero is Dad?”

You chuckled. 

“His name is Steve, Peggy. How much of a coincidence do you think that is?”

“His last name is Adams.”

“Is it, though?” James questioned, before turning to you. “Is my last name Adams?”

“James, please stop,” Peggy groaned. “I’m running out of arguments.”

“That’s because Dad is Captain America. And Mum pulled us out of school because Dad’s about to go back to America to fight the Red Skull.”

After a moment of silence, Peggy eventually asked, “Mum? Is Dad Captain America?”

You grinned as you pulled into your driveway. “Why don’t you go and ask him yourself?”

The kids rushed to get their things and race out of the car, and you followed with a smile as they ran through the house to where you could hear Steve and Maria talking in hushed voices.

The kids froze in the doorway of the dining room, staring at their father. Steve was leaning his back against the wall of the house, clean shaven and wearing a brand new Captain America suit. Maria sat back on one of the dining room chairs, the suitcase that she had brought the new suit in was lying on the table.

James glanced over the scene in front of him and murmured “Holy sh—”

“Language,” Steve interrupted.

“Oh, that is Dad,” Peggy muttered. “I wondered for a moment there.”

The two kids stared at Steve for a moment longer.

“So you shaved the beard,” Peggy began.

“And does it look like an elephant stomped on my face?”

“It looks like America stomped on your chest,” Peggy replied.

Steve laughed.

“Okay, so that’s a yes, then?” James turned to look at you.

“Yes,” you replied.

“Okay, cool. Do we have any food?”

Steve blinked, looking between the kids. “I thought you would have been a little more surprised.”

“Eh. It was kind of obvious once we realised that Mum actually is a wanted criminal known as Robin,” James explained. “And we already knew that you were a superhero, so to be honest I’m more surprised that she stole millions of dollars.”

“I believe it was billions in the end, actually,” Steve replied.

Peggy looked at you, “And you kept none of it? What is wrong with you?”

You just shrugged. “I told you, I did it because I was bored. I didn’t need the money.”

“Did you fake our birth certificates?” Peggy questioned.

“No, actually, Natasha did that,” Steve answered. “The real ones are in a secure vault in the Avengers Compound.”

“So our real last name is…” James started.

“Rogers,” you finished.

“Okay. That’s weird,” Peggy muttered. “Did you not think that it might be a good idea to tell us all of this?”

“We were going to,” Steve replied. “Tonight, actually. We’d already discussed it. But things changed. Your Mum and I are no longer wanted criminals, so I’m going back to America.”

“I’m going with him,” you added. “Someone has to make sure that this one doesn’t do anything stupid.”

“I’m glad you have so much faith in me,” Steve told you.

“Last time you fought the Red Skull, you ended up frozen in ice for seventy years.”

“That’s a fair point,” Steve admitted. “So,” he turned back to the kids, “It’s your choice. Would you prefer to stay here or come with us?”

Peggy raised her eyebrows. “Seriously?”

“We’re not about to take your lives away from you just because a villain showed up,” you explained. “There’s room for you in the Compound if you want to come along. Otherwise you can stay here. Maria says she can spare an agent or two to look after you. This is Maria,” you gestured to her. “She’s the deputy director of S.H.I.E.l.D.”

“You want a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent to be our babysitter?” James questioned.

“If anyone figures out you’re my kids, you could be in danger,” Steve pointed out. “Particularly right now. We need someone here who can deal with that, if the situation arises.”

Peggy looked at James for a moment, then turned back to you. “I choose holiday in the Avengers Compound, please and thank you.”

“Yeah, me too,” James agreed. “I’m not keen on watching from another country while Dad fights a super villain.”

“Also, we have a Maths test Monday which I’d like to put off as long as possible,” Peggy replied.

“Peg, we’ve talked about this,” Steve started.

“I am passing,” Peggy argued. “By definition, my grades _are_ good enough.”

Steve opened his mouth to reply, but you just placed a hand on his arm. “Go pack,” you told the kids.

Once they’d raced off to their bedrooms, you smiled at Steve. “Technically, she’s right.”

Steve sighed. “Maria, could you tell her that S.H.I.E.L.D. will only hire her if she actually applies herself at school?”

“I could,” Maria replied, “But that would be a lie.”

“Damn,” Steve muttered.

You just chuckled. “You ready to do this?” you asked, tugging lightly on the material of the suit. “Captain?”

Steve smiled and brushed a thumb against your cheek. “Let’s go home.”


	5. Chapter 5

“Are you alright?” You asked James as he glanced around him.

“All good,” he replied. “I’m just taking in the super high-tech jet before I get started on that,” he pointed at the shield in Steve’s hands.

Steve smiled and flipped the shield over in his hands before placing it on his back.

“Is that thing hard to use?” Peggy asked. 

“It’s not too bad. As long as you’ve got good aim and the strength to catch it, you’re fine,” Steve answered.

“That’s what he says,” Maria muttered. “The only Avengers that can use it are him, Hawkeye and the Winter Soldier. Sam’s been practicing while you were away, though. He’s getting better.”

“Can I try?” Peggy asked.

“Sure. But maybe sometime when you’re not inside a million dollar jet,” Steve replied with a smile.

Maria started pressing buttons at the control panel, and you were soon flying through the air. 

“I have a question,” James spoke. “You told us that you two met at a party. Is that true?”

“Yeah, we may have left out a few details, though,” you replied.

“Like what?”

“Like it was Tony’s party, and your Mum wasn’t invited,” Steve answered. “She broke in so that she could rob him.”

“You tried to rob Tony Stark?” Peggy asked, eyes widening.

“I succeeded, thank you very much. I got away with fifteen million dollars.”

“She told me that when I met her,” Steve smiled. “I didn’t believe her. Then she started breaking in for fun, and I started helping because it was hilarious, and it kind of just got out of hand.”

You smiled at the memory of sneaking through Stark Tower, Steve by your side, before being interrupted by Maria.

“Hey Cap, you’ve got an incoming transmission from Tony.”

The change in Steve was instant. He stood taller, jaw set as he switched into Captain America mode. “Put him through.”

A hologram of Iron Man appeared in the centre of the jet, and the kids stared wide-eyed at the image. You chuckled softly as Tony began talking.

“Guess what, Cap,” Tony told him, “I’ve found you a welcome home party.”

“Why do I get the feeling that's not a good thing?" Steve asked.

“Because it's not. We’re currently at a riot scene in Brooklyn. I was hoping maybe you could talk some sense into these guys.”

“I’ll have Maria drop me off,” Steve responded. “And be careful. You’ll find there’s probably HYDRA agents in that crowd.”

“Yeah, I was afraid you’d say that. There’s people filming too, so make your entrance look good, will you? I want you as viral as Red Skull by the time this day’s over.”

“Tony,” Steve smirked, “I’ve been waiting fifteen years for this. You know I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Tony nodded. “We’ll see you soon.”

Steve nodded as Tony disappeared, leaving the kids staring at the empty space where the hologram had been.

“So that was Iron Man,” Peggy started.

James just nodded.

“Oh, so no one cares that Dad’s Captain America,” Steve began, “But a hologram of Iron Man shows up and it’s the most amazing thing you’ve ever seen.”

“Yeah, well, we see you everyday,” James retorted. “It’s no big deal.”

“I’ll have you know that I am the world’s first superhero.”

“Good for you, Dad,” Peggy responded.

Steve looked at you.

You just laughed. “Clearly, Steve, you’re not all that impressive.”

He frowned. “I certainly am.”

“Not to them you’re not,” you smiled. “To them you’re just Dad.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Steve mumbled, “Maria, what’s our ETA?”

“Five minutes,” came the reply.

“Great,” Steve stepped forward, placing a hand gently on your hip.

“Stay safe out there,” you told him.

“You know I will.”

“I mean it. I don’t want to see any self sacrificing nonsense.”

Steve smirked. “No promises.”

“You’re impossible.”

“I love you,” he smiled innocently.

You shook your head, chuckling, “I love you too.”

He leant forward to gently brush his lips against yours. “Don’t mess with Tony too much before I get there.”

You smiled. “No promises.”

He laughed, then stepped back and turned to the kids. “You two keep out of trouble.”

“Not likely,” Peggy responded.

“Sounds boring,” James replied at the same time.

Steve just smiled and brought the kids in for a quick hug.

“Hey Dad,” Peggy spoke quietly. “Please don’t die out there.”

“I’ll do my best,” he promised.

“Drop zone in sixty seconds,” Maria announced from the pilot seat.

Steve grinned and walked towards the door of the jet.

“Showoff,” you murmured.

He turned and winked at you, smirking, as he hit the button to open the door. 

“Uh, Dad?” James began. “Don’t you need a parachute for that?”

Steve shrugged. “Why?”

Before anyone could answer, he jumped out of the plane.

* * *

Steve had to admit, he’d missed this. Not so much the doomsday scenarios or the responsibility associated with being Captain America, but jumping out of a plane on the way to punch a bad guy?

Yeah, he’d missed this.

Also, the panicked looks on his kid’s faces were absolutely priceless.

As he fell towards the earth, he switched on his communications device. Voices of the Avengers filtered through, and he couldn’t help but smile when he heard them in his ear. It had been far too long.

“You do have a plan, don’t you Tony?” Natasha’s voice came through the coms. “Or are we just going to be babysitting until this thing dies down?”

“I hope not,” Tony replied. 

Steve looked at the scene below him. There was a group of people in the street - Steve assumed the rioters. Surrounding them, were the Avengers. Further back was the police force. 

“So you have a plan?” Clint asked.

“Yes I have a plan,” Tony replied. “Admittedly, it’s not a great plan.”

“Hey,” Steve spoke through the coms, “I find that offensive.”

There was silence on the other end of the line before Bucky started laughing.

“Who was that?” A voice Steve didn’t recognise questioned.

“Let’s just say I got you all a present,” Tony answered.

Steve grinned and pulled the shield from his back, quickly tucking it under his feet to soften his landing. The shield hit the ground with a crunch, cracks breaking out across the surface of the road Steve landed on. He smiled as he stood tall and stomped on the edge of the shield to flip it up into his waiting hand. 

Steve looked up and smiled at the people in front of him. “Avengers,” he greeted.

“Welcome home, Cap,” Tony spoke happily.

“Guys,” the unknown voice spoke through the coms before Steve saw the figure land in front of him, “Captain America’s here.”

“Spider-Man, right?” Steve asked.

“Captain America knows who I am!” Spider-Man whispered.

Steve chuckled. “I’ve heard a lot about you. It’s good to finally meet you.”

“Are you going to get arrested for being here?” Sam asked, “Or...”

Steve shook his head. “Iron Man here negotiated a presidential pardon. My criminal record has been wiped clean,” Steve glanced over the group of people behind them, who had stopped fighting and yelling to stare at him. “Think I might go have a word with the people of America,” Steve decided.

“Please do,” Tony encouraged.

Steve smiled and fixed the shield onto his arm as he began walking forward forward. “Fifteen years,” he called out to the crowd. “There’s been fifteen years of aliens and demons and all sorts of world-ending scenarios, and none of you ever thought you needed me. Let me tell you, I was right there waiting. A single phone call and I would have been back in this country without question. You really think an arrest warrant would stop me from doing my job? But then you have a single bombing by the Red Skull, and you react like this?” He gestured towards the crowd. “I honestly believe you’re better than that. So let’s make a deal.”

Steve stopped walking to stand in front of the crowd, slowly meeting each person’s eyes. “Those of you who aren’t Hydra, go home. Be with your friends and families, enjoy your lives. Let us handle the Skull. And those of you who are Hydra, well...”

Steve’s voice trailed off just as someone in the crowd moved towards him. The movement was fast, with purpose - trained. Steve didn’t hesitate to toss the shield at the man, knocking him out in a single blow before catching the returning shield.

“In case you were wondering,” Steve started, “That one was Hydra.”

People suddenly started moving through the crowd, and Steve turned back to the Avengers. “Alright, Sam, Clint, Nat, Spidey, see if you can’t help the civilians get out of here safely, will you?”

“Yes Captain,” Natasha responded with a grin as the four of them ran, swung or flied into the crowd.

“Everyone else,” Steve smiled, “Who’s ready to kick Hydra’s ass?”

Bucky grinned. “I’ve been waiting a long time to hear you ask that question, Steve.”

Steve grinned and turned to face the HYDRA agents running towards him.

* * *

“Uh, Mum?” James asked. “Why are we breaking into the Avengers Compound? Couldn’t we just walk in?”

“Sure,” you replied as you hacked into the Avenger’s systems and began deactivating the security protocols, “But this is much more fun. Tony’s going to lose it.”

“That ring is awesome,” Peggy spoke, eyeing off the device you were using to hack the Compound.

“It is, isn’t it? Tony’s design.” You finished hacking and knelt down in front of the side door of the compound to pull out your lockpicks.

“Oh, and now you’re picking the lock, that’s...” James trailed off. “Can you teach me to do that?”

“Maybe later,” you agreed. “And maybe don’t tell your father.”

“About that,” Peggy began, “Are we going to talk about the fact that Dad just jumped out of a plane?”

“Yeah, he does that sometimes.”

“Right, so he just casually jumps out of a plane whenever he feels like it?” James asked. “No parachute required?”

“Basically,” you agreed as the lock clicked open. “Your father is the most dramatic person I’ve ever met. And that’s coming from someone who stole billions of dollars because I was bored.”

You pushed the door open and led your kids inside, making sure to re-lock the door behind you before you started making your way through the hallways of the Compound. You stopped in the recreation room to drop your bags and flopped back onto the couch. You picked up the TV remote and flicked it on, switching channels quickly to find what you were looking for.

“Ah, there you go,” you pointed to the screen, which was now playing an image of Steve arriving on the battlefield.

“That’s just insane,” James muttered.

“Is that us?” Peggy interrupted, pointing at a picture on the wall. 

You glanced up to where she was looking. “Yeah, that was the first time you decided to play ‘Avengers’ in the backyard. Your father was very proud.”

“That’s kind of weird,” James pointed out. “These people don’t even know us and they have a picture of us in their living room?”

“Technically, it’s the recreation room,” you corrected. “And as far as they’re concerned, you’re family.”

“Also, you have an Iron Man poster in your room,” Peggy pointed out. 

“That’s not the same thing.”

“Isn’t it, though?” Peggy asked, before wincing at a punch Steve had thrown on the TV. “Damn, he actually was holding back against us.”

“Okay, so Dad is that strong because he has some kind of magical super serum in his blood, right?” James asked, pointing at the TV.

You nodded.

“So… is the magical super serum hereditary?”

Peggy’s eyes widened and she quickly turned to look at you.

You chuckled, “Yes, you have super serum in your bloodstream. We checked when you were born. Not as much as your father, but you are what the government refer to as ‘enhanced’.”

“That is… the most awesome thing I have ever heard,” Peggy stated.

“That does not mean you can go jumping out of plans without parachutes,” you warned. “In general, anything your father does is very dangerous and just because he can do it doesn’t mean that you can.”

“But I can levitate, so technically wouldn’t it be safer for me to jump out of a plane than him?”

You hesitated for a moment. "Please don't test that theory. It’s hard enough having a husband that thinks he’s indestructible. I don’t need you two taking after him.”

“I don’t know,” Peggy mused, looking at the news footage. “I think he’s got it handled.”

“Right now, he does. The problem is when he’s out of his depth and he doesn’t notice until it’s too late.”

“Um... Did Dad just hug the Winter Soldier in the middle of a battle?” Peggy questioned.

“Probably,” you replied, “They haven’t seen each other in fifteen years, so...”

“Mum...” James began slowly “Was I named after the Winter Soldier?”

“Yep.”

Peggy frowned. “What? How come he gets to be named after a superhero?”

“You were named after the original director of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” you informed her.

Peggy’s eyes widened. “Are you serious?”

You smiled, “Google Margaret Carter.”

Peggy pulled out her phone and started typing, while James sat on the couch next to you to watch the footage of the battle.

“So what do we do now?” James asked you.

“Now, we wait.”


	6. Chapter 6

You grinned when you heard the sounds of people entering the Compound and pressed your finger to your lips, reminding your children to stay quiet. 

They exchanged a glance, then listened intently when you started to hear voices.

“The others aren’t coming yet?” Steve’s voice asked

“They’ll be here soon enough. Thought we’d let your family settle in before throwing the full force of the Avengers at them,” you recognised Tony’s voice as he answered the question.

“Good idea,” Steve decided.

“Speaking of which, where are your family? F.R.I.D.A.Y., where are Steve’s wife and kids?”

“I wasn’t aware that the traitorous scumbag had a wife and kids, boss,” The A.I. replied.

“Traitorous scumbag?” Steve chuckled. “You’re never going to let her call me ‘Steve’ again, are you?”

“Absolutely not. But what does she mean? I thought you said your family would be here.”

There was a short silence before Steve started laughing.

“Oh hell no,” Tony muttered before calling out, “Robin, I know there’s no way you got past my security systems, so tell me that you’re not here.”

You smiled, raised your voice and called back, “I’m not here.”

This was met with silence, and then some mumbling before Tony stood before you, Steve by his side.

“Seriously?” Tony questioned, looking at you. “You helped design those systems! Is there no way that I can stop you from breaking in here?”

“Not really, no,” you replied with a grin. You stood up and approached Tony. “It’s good to see you, Tony.”

“You too, I think,” he responded as he moved to hug you.

He pulled back and turned to the kids, who were watching him with wide eyes. 

“And you two,” Tony looked between them. “Last time I saw you, you were this big,” Tony demonstrated their size with his hands. “What the hell happened?”

“They grew, Tony,” Steve replied with a smile. He quickly hugged you and kissed you on the cheek. 

Once you were done greeting the men, you activated your ring and began tapping. 

“Um, no, stop,” Tony waved at you. “What are you doing?”

“Turning your security systems back on,” you replied.

“Okay, I’ll allow that,” Tony decided. “Please continue.”

You shook your head with a smile and continued your work.

The moment the room fell quiet, Peggy quickly turned on her further. “Did you name me after your ex?”

Tony chuckled, “The surprising part is that your mother let him.”

Steve sighed, “Both of you were named after two of the bravest and most brilliant people I have ever met.”

“Oh yeah?” Tony looked at Steve, “Then where’s baby Anthony?”

Steve shook his head, turning back towards Peggy. “And yes, Peggy Carter and I had history, but we didn’t just name you after my ex, we named you after an incredible woman. But I suspect you already know that.”

Peggy cracked a smile, “Yeah, I’ve been researching and… she was freaking awesome.”

“So am I, but there were never any babies named after me,” Tony muttered. 

“James has your poster on his wall,” Peggy offered.

“Peg!” James groaned.

“Really?” Tony smiled, “Well in that case, I think you and I will be excellent friends. You too, junior Black Widow,” Tony pointed at Peggy, who looked down at her shirt and groaned.

“Forgot I was wearing that,” she muttered, staring at the _Black Widow_ logo on her chest.

“Excuse me, Mr. Stark,” F.R.I.D.A.Y. interjected, “I am picking up the presence of Robin and two unidentified humans.”

“You don’t say,” Tony sighed. “Update your files, would you? Robin and Steve are now married, and the unidentified humans are their children, James and Peggy. Give them access to all areas of the Compound.”

“Except anywhere they can get hold of a weapon,” Steve added.

“Aww, Dad, come on,” Peggy moaned.

Steve just looked at her.

“Files updated,” F.R.I.D.A.Y. announced.

“Excellent,” Tony clapped his hands together, “Who’s ready to see your rooms?”

You gathered your things and followed Tony through the hallways to a lift. Once you’d arrived at your floor, Tony started walking again. “Okay, we have Sam in this one,” Tony pointed to a door, “Bucky’s in here. And you,” he stopped at a door labeled ‘Rogers’, “Welcome home,” he pressed down on the handle and opened the door, allowing you to step inside.

You entered a large living room, adjacent to a full size kitchen and a hallway leading to more rooms. You raised your eyebrows at the space. “Tony, you said we had rooms. This is an entire apartment.”

“Yeah, well, I got bored one night about seven years ago and thought one day you might need it. I mean, the standard rooms aren’t really suitable for housing four people. So I did some designing and I had some people get this set up. You still have access to all of the common areas, of course, but I thought you might find it beneficial to have your own space as well.”

“This is amazing, Tony,” Steve responded. “Thank you.”

“Anytime,” Tony grinned. “Now, I expect we’ll see you all for training tomorrow morning? Avengers train at 6 am, the rest of you should be good to join in around 9. I’ll have breakfast sent up here for you, just let F.R.I.D.A.Y. know of any dietary requirements you might have.” He turned to James and Peggy. “If you two have any questions, ask F.R.I.D.A.Y. All you need to do is say her name and she’ll answer you. Anything else you need, just let me know. Okay?”

The two kids nodded slowly.

“And one last thing,” Tony grinned, pointing at Peggy, “It’s a great shirt.”

* * *

You smiled at Steve as he closed your bedroom door behind him.

“What?” he asked.

“You. You’re happy.”

“I’ve always been happy,” he replied. 

“This is the epitome for you though, isn’t it?” You moved towards him and began undoing the suit he wore, working your fingers swiftly through clasps and zips.

Steve smiled, “I guess this is the best of both worlds. I get my family and my job.”

You hummed and helped him push off the top half of the suit. “And if the kids decide they want to go back after all this is over?”

“I will go wherever you do. You know that,” Steve dropped the upper part of the suit in the laundry chute labelled ‘tactical gear’ before turning back to you. “I’m just going to enjoy everyone being together while I can.”

You gently placed your hands on his shoulders, “You think they’re handling this okay?” you murmured. “We did kind of just throw all of this on the kids at once.”

“Our children are stronger than we give them credit for,” Steve replied, leaning in to nuzzle his nose against yours. “They’ll be fine.”

You nodded. “Yeah. I’m sure you’re right,” you brushed your thumb against his cheek. “You need a shower.”

Steve chuckled. “Probably. It felt good to be out there, though.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“You gonna keep jumping out of planes in an attempt to impress your children?”

“I didn’t do it just—”

You raised your eyebrows at him, and he sighed.

“Did it work?" he asked

“I’m sure they’ll deny it, but they were at least a little impressed when they saw the footage of you landing at the scene and then fighting.”

You laughed at the smug smile that comment brought to Steve’s face. “Go on, go shower,” you pressed a quick kiss to his lips before pushing against his chest.

“Yes ma’am,” he grinned before disappearing into the bathroom.

* * *

After two hours of lying awake in his new - admittedly very comfortable - bed, James sighed and reached for his phone. He typed quickly and sent a text off to his sister. _You awake?_

The reply came almost immediately. _Can’t sleep._

James quickly tossed off his blankets and padded across the hall to the room Peggy was sleeping in. He pressed down on the door handle and poked his head in.

“Hey,” Peggy murmured, beckoning him in.

He stepped inside, taking in Peggy’s bedroom, lit by the soft light of her bedside table. She held up a StarkPad. “I’ve been watching an old video. Dad and Tony tried to get Mum out of prison legally before they broke out. Made a damn good argument too. I can’t believe they lost.” She tossed the StarkPad to the side, allowing it to land on her bed beside her.

James smiled and sat carefully on the end of the bed. “You know, Dad being Captain America actually makes an awful lot of sense. Mum being a thief, however…”

Peggy nodded. “I know. I can’t believe they kept this from us.”

“I can,” James replied. “I mean, their freedom relied on no one finding out who they were. They couldn’t really trust a couple of kids with that. What if we went to school the next day and told everyone?”

“But we wouldn’t do that.”

“Not anymore, but who knows what we’d have done when we were younger.”

Peggy chuckled, shaking her head. “We literally have our own rooms in the Avengers Compound, and we can’t even tell anyone. It’s insane.”

James smiled, “I know. Did you speak to anyone from school?”

Peggy nodded. “Told them that we had family in America effected by the bombing, so we were flying over to help. It’s not exactly a lie, so,” she shrugged,

“It’s a good story,” James agreed.

After a moment’s silence, Peggy looked over at James, “You’re still gonna tell them, right?”

James sighed. “I don’t know.”

“Well, no one said you have to.”

Jams smiled, “Yeah, sounds great. I’ll just bring home a boy one day and drop the bombshell on them then. Or we can pretend he’s a friend until I want to get married or something, and then we’ll have a great discussion about it all.”

“It could work out really well. One day, you come home and say ‘Mum, Dad, this is my fiancée.”

“Yeah, and I’ll just pretend to be someone I’m not until then, shall I?” James sighed. “I’d prefer to get it out in the open. Only…”

Peggy raised her eyebrows at him. 

“We just found out that Dad was born a century ago. They had different views on this kind of thing back then. What if he’s super-old fashioned and—"

“Really, James?” Peggy questioned. 

“Well it’s possible,” James argued.

“Sure, but I don’t think it will happen. They’ll react exactly the same way I did.”

“I am a hundred per-cent certain that they will not hi-five me and start sending me shirtless pictures of Thor. Which, by the way, is kind of weird now that we have a very real chance of actually meeting him.”

“Yeah,” Peggy said slowly. “I think I’m just going to make sure I don’t have any of those pictures still saved here,” she reached for her phone and began tapping.

James smiled and flopped back on the bed. “It’s not just Mum and Dad now, you know. It’s the entirety of the Avengers. And… what if Dad’s fans find out that his kid is...”

“Gay?” Peggy smiled. “James, Dad literally made out with Mum on live TV, broke her out of prison, went on the run and then disappeared to have a family. I don’t think he really cares about what other people think. You shouldn’t either.”

“Yeah, well that’s easier said than done,” he murmured.

“Tell me about it.”

He turned to look at her. “What if I’m wrong? What if in a few years time I find a girl that I really like?”

“What if in the meantime you meet a boy you really like? Or even better, what If Aidan turns around and decides—”

“He’s straight, Peggy.”

“Did he tell you that?”

“No,” James admitted. “We haven’t talked about it.”

“Then there’s at least a little bit of hope there.”

“But what if this is just a phase?”

“James, listen to what you’re saying, will you?”

James stayed quiet. 

Peggy smiled. “Tell them whenever you’re ready, James. I’ll be right there when you do, okay? Till then...” Peggy smiled. “I’ve been thinking... You know how we used to say that one day we’ll get payback for every time Dad surprise attacked us at the most inconvenient time possible, just for the sake of training?”

James couldn’t help his smile at the thought. “You got a plan?”

“More like an idea.”

James grinned. “Tell me more.”


	7. Chapter 7

You grinned at Peggy when she arose the next morning. “Hey Peg. How’d you sleep?”

“Okay, once I got to sleep,” she replied. “It took a little bit. There was a lot of excitement yesterday. Do we have breakfast?”

You nodded and reached for a container that had been set on the bench, the name ‘Peggy Rogers’ on top. 

“F.R.I.D.A.Y. creates a meal plan for everyone in the building, based on age, build, training requirements, superpowers,” you explained, passing her the meal. “Basically she’s designed all of your meals to give you optimal nutrition based on your needs.” 

“That sounds awful,” Peggy opened her container, “But looks surprisingly decent.”

“Yeah, Tony’s not one to suffer bad food for the sake of good nutrition. If you ever get anything you don’t like, let F.R.I.D.A.Y. know and she’ll make sure you don’t get it again.”

Peggy shrugged and sat at the kitchen bench before digging into her meal. “So, we watched a documentary on Robin the thief last night. Did you actually climb up the side of buildings?”

“Sure. It’s surprisingly easy if you know what you’re doing.”

“That’s super dangerous.”

“More people die crossing the street than climbing up the side of buildings.” you replied. 

Peggy stared. “That’s because no one’s stupid enough to climb up the side of buildings!”

You chuckled.

“Morning,” James smiled as he entered the room. “I smelt food.”

You passed him his meal and he frowned at it.

“Apparently the A.I. decides what we eat now,” Peggy told him. 

“Benefits of living in the Avengers Compound,” you explained. “Everyone here has to be in peak physical condition, which means you have to be eating well.”

“Does this mean I can’t have soda anymore?” James questioned. “Because that sucks.”

“I wouldn’t worry. Just wait until you see what’s in the shared kitchen pantry. The amount of junk food they go through on movie nights is nearly unbelievable.”

“So what’s the deal here, we eat train and sleep while Dad fights crime?” Peggy asked.

“More or less,” you shrugged. “Depending on how long it takes.”

“Okay, well, James and I were talking last night, and basically,” Peggy pushed her empty container to the side and leant forward on the kitchen bench, “We want revenge.”

You considered, “Against who?”

“Dad,” James responded. “You know how he’s spent half our lives attacking us at the most inappropriate moments he could find?”

You nodded. “Training you, yes.”

“Well, we want to give him a taste of his own medicine,” Peggy smiled. “But we don’t know exactly how to do it. I mean, clearly we need to take him by surprise, but we don’t really know how to make that happen.”

“We thought, considering you’re apparently really good and breaking into places unnoticed, you might be able to help,” James finished.

You looked between your two children, a grin slowly spreading on your face. “Oh, I have just the thing.”

* * *

It was far too easy. Tony had F.R.I.D.A.Y. set to warn the Avengers whenever anyone entered the training area. It took you forty-eight seconds to deactivate that particular system. Next was the doors which had been electronically locked. They were easily hacked.

All you had to do then was make your way to the viewing platform above the main training area and wait. 

The Avengers were locked in battle, all of them working hard to try and take each other off the field. You’d seen them play this game before, back when you were healing from your injuries after your first - and, as it had turned out, your last - mission. All of them started off in the centre of the training room. If someone took you down to the ground, you were ‘out’ and moved to the side of the room. No powers, no suits, just plain old fighting. 

Steve, Bucky and Natasha seemed to be the only ones still in. You watched as Steve and Bucky focused on each other, giving Natasha the opportunity to take Bucky down while his back was turned. Bucky laughed and left the field, leaving Steve and Natasha to face each other. 

“Not bad, old man,” Natasha teased. “I thought your fifteen year honeymoon might’ve had a negative impact on your fighting ability.”

Steve smirked. “Fifteen years of watching the flaws in your fighting style, Nat.”

“Oh, really? Care to prove it?”

Natasha lunged at Steve, and he quickly dodged before launching a counter-attack to her side. Before allowing her to recover, Steve grabbed hold of her arm, twisted it behind her and swiped his feet through her leg, knocking her off balance for just a second before Nat regained her footing. Steve, however, was already there and sending a kick to her knee before she could retaliate. With Natasha off balance once more, Steve pushed her into the ground with a thud.

Nat laughed. “Damn. What have you been doing for the last fifteen years?”

“Running from the cops and teaching self-defence classes,” Steve replied with a smile.

“Nice comeback, Cap,” Sam congratulated, clapping from the sidelines.

You grinned, and sent a quick text to Peggy. _Now._

“I gotta say, I really thought you’d be out of practice,” Tony agreed.

“Yeah, well—” Steve was cut off by his daughter launching herself at his back, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and quickly pulling him off balance.

You couldn’t help your smile as James came rushing towards Steve to make use of Steve’s disadvantage.

The Avengers stepped back and shared a few glances before watching with curiosity as the sudden attack turned into a battle between Steve and his two children. 

“But… what… how…” Tony spluttered, staring at the kids. 

“Clearly they’re trained, Tony,” Nat responded with a grin.

“That’s not the problem,” Tony stared. “The problem is that they’re meant to be setting off alarms if they come in here!” 

Clint threw his head back, laughing, “Oh, I’ve missed this.”

Your attention was drawn back to the battle as Steve landed with his back to the ground. “Okay, okay,” he chuckled, holding up his hands. “I surrender.”

“Thank god,” Peggy muttered, “You’re really sweaty and I didn’t want to keep hitting you.”

Steve laughed, “You good?” he asked James.

“Yeah,” James panted, reaching into his pocket, “I’ll be fine.” He pulled out his inhaler and took a couple of puffs. “Asthma sucks,” he murmured.

“Well, if it makes you feel better,” Bucky stepped forward, “Your Dad used to get an asthma attack from walking too fast. No way he could have pulled that off.”

“Okay, but seriously, how did you get in here?” Tony questioned. “F.R.I.D.A.Y., what the hell?”

“Is there a problem, boss?” F.R.I.D.A.Y. responded.

“Yes!” Tony cried, “They’re not meant to be in here without my knowledge,” he pointed to the kids.

“Who isn’t meant to be in here?” F.R.I.D.A.Y. questioned.

“Haven’t you worked it out yet, Tony?” Steve smirked, pushing himself off the floor to walk towards the viewing platform. “They asked for help.”

You grinned and waited a few moments for Steve to finish moving before you vaulted yourself over the side of the platform. You landed comfortably in Steve’s arms, and he looked at you with an amused smile.

“Hi,” he spoke softly, staring into your eyes.

“Hi,” you responded.

“Your idea?” he asked.

You shook your head, “Theirs.”

“Oh,” he smiled, “Cute.”

“Oh my god, stop staring lovingly into each others eyes, will you?” Peggy murmured.

You chuckled, and Steve lowered you to your feet.

Steve turned to the Avengers, “Everyone, I’d like you to meet my children,” he gestured to James and Peggy. “And I’m sure you remember my wife.”

“Oh, hell yes we do,” Clint grinned moving towards you. “C’mere,” he pulled you into a hug, and you grinned.

“It’s been boring around here without you,” Clint told you.

You were dragged into more hugs while the Avengers started chatting with the kids, clearly excited to finally meet them.

Once you were done greeting everyone, you turned to where your kids were talking to Natasha. 

“So,” she looked at Peggy, “I thought I spotted a very high jump there.”

Peggy looked at Steve.

He nodded. “No secrets amongst the Avengers, Peg. It never works out well.”

She looked back at Natasha, “I can levitate.”

“Yes!” Sam cried. “I believe that’s fifteen hundred to me.”

Peggy raised her eyebrows.

“Wait,” Tony held up a finger. “You can levitate. Can you fly?”

“No,” Peggy responded. “I can’t.”

“Dammit!” Sam hissed.

“What’s going on here?” James asked.

You activated your ring as they were talking and started tapping the holographic screen.

“Oh, the Avengers have a gambling ring,” Clint explained. “It started out as betting on who was helping your Mum break into the tower and just kind of evolved. Now we bet on everything. I win five-grand if either of you develops laser eyes.”

“So what can you do?” Bruce asked, looking at James.

James shifted uncomfortably. “Uh, nothing. I’ve got nothing.”

“Man, I gotta tell you,” Sam put forth, “Going a round with Captain America is not nothing.”

James shrugged. “We only managed to take him down because you had already worn him out beforehand.”

“That doesn’t make what you just did any less impressive,” Sam replied.

“And there’s plenty of us without powers,” Clint added. “It’s all about skill and tactics. Doesn’t matter what superpowers you come across if you’re smarter than the person wielding them.”

“Ooh, you’re treading on thin ice there, buddy,” Tony muttered.

“Last I checked, you didn’t have superpowers, so that lands you in the ‘smarter than everyone else’ category,” Clint replied.

“You make an excellent point,” Tony nodded.

“Excuse me boss,” F.R.I.D.A.Y. interrupted, “The Rogers family has entered the training room without approval. Would you like me to activate the alarms?”

Tony turned to glare at you, and you gave a little wave and a smirk.

“You exist to torment me, don’t you?” Tony asked.

You just grinned.

Tony sighed, “No, F.R.I.D.A.Y., that will not be necessary. Thank you.” He scratched behind his ear. “Okay, if you lot want to get your training underway, I think I’ll go and upgrade my security systems. Again.”

“Good luck with that, Tony,” you smiled.

He shook his head. “I’m leaving now. Steve, find your wife a new hobby, will you?”

Steve chuckled, “Not a chance.”

“Alright, let’s do this,” Sam straightened up. “You’re with me,” he pointed at James. “Someone’s gotta teach you how to fight like a super-soldier without being a dumbass.”

Steve and Bucky looked at him, frowning.

“What?” Sam smiled. “You two got a freaking death wish out in the field. The kid needs to know that you can do the fighting thing without self-sacrificing.” Sam smiled at James, “I got you covered.”

“And you,” Natasha grinned at Peggy, “Are with me. Come on,” she put an arm around Peggy and started walking her through the room. “There’s one thing your Dad’s never going to be able to teach you.”

“What’s that?” Peggy asked. 

“How to fight like a girl.”

“Nat,” Steve called after them, “She’s only twelve!”

“I know!” Nat called back, before murmuring something in Peggy’s ear. You could hear Peggy’s laughter as she left the room.

“And you’re with me,” Clint turned to you. 

“And why’s that?” you asked with a smile.

“Because you are a pretty pathetic Robin Hood,” Clint grinned and pulled out his bow, “Without one of these.”


	8. Chapter 8

You took a steady breath before pulling back on the bow string. 

“You know,” you murmured to Clint, “You make this look really easy.”

“You make hacking Tony’s tech look easy,” Clint replied, “But most people can’t do that.”

You let go, watching as the arrow sailed straight past your target. 

“That’s good,” Clint spoke. “You’re getting closer.”

You chuckled softly. “I’m not getting anywhere near it.” You took another arrow out of the quiver and knocked it, slowly pulling back on the bow string.

“So… Did you and Steve actually send the cops postcards from wherever you were?”

“Yeah,” you replied as you watched another arrow miss the target. “They have a collection now.”

“And Steve actually let you risk them finding out where you were, just to mess with the feds?”

“Absolutely,” You grabbed another arrow. “In fact, he encouraged it.”

Clint laughed. “It’s like a he’s a completely different man around you.”

“No, that’s just Steve,” you smiled. “Ask Bucky - he’s always been like that. You just never saw it because you were so focused on Captain America.”

You pulled back on the bow string, and Clint stepped forward. “May I?” he asked.

“Sure.”

Clint stood behind you so that he could place a hand just under yours on the bow, his other hand pulling back on the string. “You need to turn this way,” Clint moved you slightly, “And add a bit more tension to the string and…” 

You let go, watching as the arrow landed on your target. Not quite a bulls-eye, but a whole lot closer than your previous attempts. 

“Oh,” you murmured.

“Are you making moves on my wife, Clint?” Steve called as he entered the firing range.

Clint smiled, “What can I say, Steve? She’s an incredible woman.”

“No arguments here,” Steve put an arm around your shoulders, squeezing you. “I hate to cut this short, but we have a mission. A large amount of Hydra operatives have been spotted on Liberty Island. The kids are in the apartment,” he directed the last statement at you.

“Okay, stay safe,” you kissed Steve briefly and he nodded.

The two of them left and you made your way back to your apartment, where you found your children sitting on the lounge and talking excitedly. You smiled and placed your new bow on the coffee table before removing the quiver of arrows.

“Really, Mum?” James questioned, glancing at the weapons.

You smiled, “Clint says I’m a rubbish Robin Hood.”

Peggy laughed. 

You sat back on an armchair and looked to your kids. “So, how was training?”

“It was amazing!” Peggy gushed. “Natasha is the best teacher and she has so many tricks that I swear Dad never even knew about.”

You grinned, “And you?” you asked James.

“Yeah, it was good. We did some sparring and then Sam gave me this,” James held up a manilla folder stuffed full with papers. The handwritten title on the front read ‘Stupid Shit Your Dad’s Done’. 

You chuckled to yourself. 

“Sam wants me to see if I can come up with a way Dad could have achieved the same results without putting his life at risk.”

“Well, teach your father when you’re done, will you?”

“Sam says he already tried but Dad insists on being a dumbass.”

You sighed. “That sounds about right.”

There was a moment of silence while you fiddled with your wedding ring. This was what you hated most about Steve being on a mission. You knew that he had every intention of coming back to you, but Steve had a habit of making dumb decisions in order to save the world. If he kept pulling those stupid self-sacrificing stunts, eventually one of them was going to go wrong. 

“Mum?” James interrupted your thoughts, and you turned your attention to your son.

“Is it okay if we talk about something?” he asked hesitantly.

“Of course,” you replied.

“Promise you won’t freak out?”

“James, unless you have murdered someone or committed an equally horrific crime, I think we’ll be okay.”

James laughed to himself. “No, it’s nothing like that. It’s just that… Well, there’s a small chance that I might be…”

“Just say it, James,” Peggy muttered.

James sighed. “Gay.”

You couldn’t help a small smile. “Just a small possibility?”

James shrugged.

You chuckled and moved from your position on the armchair to sit next to James on the couch and drape an arm around his shoulders. “You don’t have to look so scared, James. We’re good.”

“Oh,” James let out a sigh of relief, “So I’m not in trouble?”

You laughed. “Of course not. I’m just glad you felt like you could tell me.”

“Really?”

“Of course. I want you to be happy, James, I don’t care if that’s with a boy or a girl or no one at all. Hell, given who your father is, there’s actually a reasonable chance you could end up with a purple spotted alien.”

“And you’d be okay with that?” Peggy questioned with a smile.

“As long as they’re a nice alien, sure.” 

“Okay,” James breathed. “Then it’s just…”

Peggy sighed, “James is scared that Dad’s going to kick him out when he finds out.”

You had to try hard not to laugh at that. “Your father’s a big softy, James. He’s not going to care. In fact, you probably don’t even have to tell him. You could bring a guy home one day and he probably won’t even notice.”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought before I learned who he was. It’s just that he was raised in a different time, so…”

“So you don’t know what his belief systems were when he was younger,” you concluded.

“Yeah. Exactly.”

“James, I promise you, your father’s a better man than that. And if I am wrong, I will personally kick his ass, super-serum be damned.”

“Well,” Peggy smirked, “Surely the three of us together could take him.”

“Oh, totally,” you agreed with a smile, “But I’m quite certain we’re not going to have to. And if you’re really that concerned, I’ll talk to him for you, alright?”

James nodded. “Thanks. But I kinda think I wanna do it myself.”

You shook your head, smiling, “When did you two get so grown up?”

“That would be yesterday when you told us that you’re a criminal and Dad’s Captain America,” Peggy answered with a smile.

You laughed just as your phone began buzzing, but your heart slowly sank when you saw the caller ID. Surely there could be no good reason for Tony to call you in the middle of a battle. 

“I’ll be right back,” you told the kids before you quickly left the room and answered the phone.

“Hi Tony,” you spoke.

“Hey Birdie, we got a problem here,” you could hear Tony’s voice over the sounds of battle in the background. “You know how Steve has a habit of making some stupid decisions in the field?”

You froze, “What’s he done?”

“He got caught,” Tony replied. “Red Skull’s taken him hostage.”

“What? How?”

“I don’t know the details, I’ve been a little busy making sure HYDRA don’t blow up the Statue of Liberty. But there is good news, the GPS tracker in his suit is still active, so we can find out where he went.”

“Then why are you calling me?”

“Because we’ve got our hands full here,” Tony replied. “So we need to send someone else to go and get him. Preferably someone who’s good at sneaking around, not being seen, and hacking high-tech security systems.”

You sighed. “Steve’s going to kill you for this.”

“Only if he’s alive to do it,” Tony spoke. “There’s a silver briefcase in the top of your wardrobe.”

You heard an explosion as you moved through the apartment to your bedroom and pulled the briefcase down. You placed it on the bed and opened it, revealing a brand new suit. Your fingers trailed over the dark blue material, complete with a hood.

“I made it a few years back, just in case,” Tony started. “I know Robin Hood traditionally wears green, but I thought it would be nice to match you in with Steve.”

You pulled the suit out of the case, glancing at the entire thing. It was clearly made of a sturdy, protective material, but designed to be easy to move in. You smiled at the belt buckle - a small, metal robin. On the side of the right shoulder was the Avengers logo, on the left shoulder was a design matching Steve’s shield.

“You’ll be glad to know it’s completely bulletproof,” Tony continued. “And there is a smaller version of the latest edition StarkPad built into the arm. Steve told me you preferred hacking with StarkTech anyway, and it’s going to be much more efficient than the ring. Plus you can use a hard wired connection, rather than wifi.”

“This is incredible, Tony. But Steve is definitely going to kill you.”

“Get him out of there alive so that he actually can kill me, and I won’t even complain,” Tony responded. “You’ll be able to trace Steve from the suit. Good luck. And please don’t get hurt, or Steve will do much worse than kill me.”

“I’ll do what I can. I’ll be in touch.” You hung up the phone and quickly got changed. Somehow, you weren’t surprised at how well the suit fit. Tony never settled on anything less than perfect.

You fitted the communications device that was included in the suitcase in your ear as you left the bedroom to find your kids.

“Whoah,” James muttered when he saw you.

“Mum?” Peggy asked, looking you over, “Care to explain?”

“Your father got himself captured, someone needs to go and save him. And apparently Tony made me a super-suit.”

“But… isn’t that kind of dangerous?” Peggy asked.

“Absolutely,” you agreed. “But I don’t intend to be seen, so it should be fine. I’ll do everything I can to get back here safe. In the meantime, you two stay in the Compound. Do what F.R.I.D.A.Y. says. Okay?”

“Sure,” James agreed.

Peggy nodded. 

You pulled both kids into a hug and kissed each of them on top of the head before loading up the StarkPad built into your suit. “Alright, Steve,” you muttered, “Where are you?”


	9. Chapter 9

When you found out Steve was being taken to the Red Skull’s secret lair, you expected an old warehouse or an abandoned apartment building. But no, apparently Steve was being held captive in an old church.

You weren’t sure what that was meant to mean - whether the skull was making some kind of statement or an old church was just the only evil lair available, but you did know one thing for sure. Churches were damn easy to climb.

You made it to the roof quickly, without being noticed by any of the Hydra guards that had been stationed outside, before you started scanning the area with your brand new tech. Tony had definitely thought this system through, as well. Not only were you able to hack security systems, but you had access to the blueprints of the building, and even had the ability to detect heat signatures inside. There was a tiny image of a robin showing your own location on the roof, and a blinking red, white and blue star in the lower levels of the building, which you assumed was Steve.

For someone who wanted you to stop breaking into places, Tony was doing a very good job of helping you out.

You plotted the best course of movement through the church before sneaking down one of the side walls. Unfortunately an old church meant a lot of stained glass windows, so they couldn’t be opened. If you wanted to remain undetected, you would need to go old school and use a door.

You quietly snuck down the side of the building, making sure to keep to the shadows. The screen on your arm showed that guards were around, even if you couldn’t see them at this particular moment. One wrong move, and your cover would be blown. You had every intention of getting in and out of this evil lair without being seen.

It took you a few seconds with a lock pick to get through the first door and begin sneaking quietly through the church. You saw a few Hydra operatives as you made your way towards the blinking star on your map, but none of them seemed to have any clue you were there.

You stopped for a second outside of a makeshift lab on the ground level, waiting for the guards stationed there to move on with their rounds. Within the lab, you heard someone speak your husband’s name, and quickly listened in.

“I hold in my hands two vials of Steve Rogers’ blood,” someone spoke. 

“What do we need that for?” Another asked. “Herr Skull already has super-serum—“

“Yes, but not this one,” the first replied. “The super serum developed for Rogers is the best quality out there, and thanks to the death of Erskine, it was never reproduced. If we can work out his formula, we’ll have the world’s most powerful super serum.”

You winced. Of course the first thing they would do after capturing Steve would be take his blood. And you definitely couldn’t allow Hydra scientists to analyse it. It seemed you were going to have to take a quick detour before rescuing your husband. 

You hoped Steve wasn’t being tortured or something equally horrifying as you slowly rounded the corner to see where the vials were being kept. The two scientists began seeing to something else in the room, and you held your breath as you started moving. 

The fridge was high-tech, which meant an electronic lock. You connected your suit to the electronic systems and began hacking, keeping an eye on the nearby scientists as you did.

Luckily, Hydra’s idea of high level security was very different from yours. It took only a couple of minutes to hack the system, unlock the door and retrieve the two vials marked S.R. You returned the setup to normal and re-locked the fridge before leaving. Hopefully you would be long gone with Steve by the time anyone noticed their blood samples were missing. 

The rest of your journey through the Church was uneventful as you made your way to where Steve was being kept. 

You were careful as you descended the stairs to the crypt. You kept low, moving through the catacombs to where Steve was tied to a chair, facing the Red Skull. The Skull was pacing back and forth, talking to Steve. You watched for a while as the two conversed.

There were two options right now - you could wait for the Red Skull to leave and then rescue your husband, or you could cause a distraction.

Considering there was no guarantee that Red Skull intended to leave Steve alive, you decided to go with option two. 

You quickly connected to the building’s security systems and began hacking. A few minutes later, you had set off an alarm in the upper levels. The Skull said something to Steve and left, stalking up the stairs to investigate the source of the alarm.

After double checking heat signatures in the room to make sure there was no one else around, you smiled and stood up to slowly approach Steve.

Steve smirked mischievously at you. “Hey there, Little Bird.”

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” you questioned, moving to untie Steve.

“Gathering intelligence,” he responded.

“Is that what you’re calling it?”

“Do you know what happens when a villain captures a superhero?” 

You untied the first set of ropes and got started on the second.

“They tell the hero everything,” Steve continued. “Herr Schmidt there just got so confident that I would never escape that he decided to tell me his entire master plan.”

You released Steve, and he stood from the chair. 

“I needed to find out what he’s planning, and the easiest way to do that is to wind up in this chair,” he tapped the object happily.

“Steve, tell me you did not get yourself captured on purpose under the assumption that Red Skull would tell you his evil plan.”

He smiled sheepishly. “I had it handled.”

“Really?”

“Of course.”

“So there were no flaws in your plan at all. No way they could, for example, get a sample of your super blood?”

“I...” Steve’s voice trailed off.

You sighed and pulled the vials from your belt pocket to show him.

“God, I love you,” Steve grinned.

You shook your head. “You are in so much trouble when we get back to the Compound.” You took his hand and started moving through the crypt to the stairs.

“I’m in trouble? At least I’m supposed to be in the field. You are meant to be a consultant.”

“If you didn’t get yourself captured, I wouldn’t have to be in the field.”

“And yet something tells me that suit wasn’t created between me being captured and you coming after me.”

“Tony stowed it in the top of our wardrobe before we arrived. I had no idea until he told me where it was. Apparently it was a ‘just in case’ thing.”

Steve hesitated, “Is it bulletproof?”

You chuckled. “Yes.”

“Well that’s some—”

You noticed movement out the corner of your eye and quickly covered his mouth with your hand, pushing him into the shadows. The two of you waited silently for the Hydra agents to pass before you took his hand again and pulled. “C’mon, they’re going to notice you missing.”

The two of you started rushing through the church as quickly as you could while still remaining hidden. Steve quickly knocked out the single guard who spotted you on the way out, and you were gone within minutes, quickly scrambling up the side of a nearby building to the roof. You spent a half hour or so making sure that you weren’t being tailed before you relaxed and began to make your way back to the Compound.

Steve smirked at you, taking your hand. “Just like old times.”

You chuckled, “I kinda missed it, you know.”

“Yeah,” Steve smiled, “Me too. So who do I have to yell at for sending you into the field?”

“Nobody, Steve, I’m a grown woman who can make her own decisions.”

“Tony?” Steve asked.

You rolled your eyes. “If you didn’t make dumb decisions like getting yourself captured by Red Skull, I wouldn’t have to come and get you, would I?”

“I had it handled!” Steve protested.

“Oh yeah? What was your escape plan?”

“I was making it up as I went along,” Steve told you.

“You’re impossible.”

Steve grinned. “I know.”

You sighed, “I really hope our kids don’t take after you,” you pressed a finger to your earpiece before speaking “Hey Tony, you there?”

“Yeah Birdie,” Came the response. “You good?”

“Yeah. Steve’s with me. All clear.”

“Fantastic, because I have more news for you.”

You frowned and looked at Steve. “What?” you asked. You shifted the earpiece slightly out of your ear so that Steve could lean in and listen to Tony’s part of the conversation.

“Please don’t murder me.”

“Why would I do that?”

“Well,” there was a moment of silence, followed by an explosion before Tony continued speaking. “There’s currently a small group of HYDRA agents that have decided to rob a pharmacy - I assume to get some chemicals or medications they can’t get legally or something - and I figured we’re all busy, so I’d just let the police handle it and hope for the best. Anyway, long story short, F.R.I.D.A.Y. has just informed me that your children left the Compound to fight said HYDRA agents themselves.”

Your jaw dropped, eyes widening, “Our kids what?”


	10. Chapter 10

“This sucks,” James muttered, flipping through the old mission reports Sam had given him to look over.

“I’m bored,” Peggy replied from her position lying on the floor, staring up at the ceiling.

“I’m more worried about our parents,” James responded. “I mean, Dad got captured by the Red Skull and Mum is the entire rescue team.”

“They’ll be fine, right? Isn’t Dad indestructible or something?”

“I sure hope so,” James responded.

“Maybe—" Peggy stopped when the alarms started ringing.

James frowned. “F.R.I.D.A.Y., what are those alarms for?”

“It’s a mission alert.”

“There’s already two missions, why would there be another?”

“Hydra are currently breaking into a pharmacy.”

Peggy sat up. “When you say Hydra, do you mean like the Red Skull himself, or just a few goons?”

“There are five Hydra operatives. None enhanced.”

Peggy looked at James.

“No,” James told her. “Absolutely not.”

“James,” Peggy argued, “They’re just normal humans. We can take them.”

“That’s irrelevant. Mum told us to stay here.”

“Yeah, but she didn’t know there would be another mission. And we can totally do this.”

James sighed, looking at his sister. “This is a terrible idea.”

Peggy shrugged. “Come on, James. We can help.”

James stared at her.

“What would Dad do?” Peggy asked.

James considered the question, then sighed. “F.R.I.D.A.Y., how do we get there?”

“I do not think this is a good idea,” the A.I. responded.

“Probably not,” Peggy agreed. “But we’re going. So how do we do this?”

“There is a jet automatically programmed to fly to the mission location in the hanger.”

“Thanks, F.R.I.D.A.Y.,” James replied. “And please don’t tell Mum and Dad about this. If they find out, we’re dead.”

“I will not tell your parents,” F.R.I.D.A.Y. promised.

“Great, let’s go!” Peggy spoke cheerfully before leading the way to the hangar.

James followed, and minutes later the jet had landed a few blocks away from the pharmacy. 

“You ready?” Peggy asked as they began the walk to their destination.

“I guess,” James replied. “You know, if we die, I’m blaming you.”

“Relax, we’re not going to die. Dad’s literally been training us to fight Hydra our whole lives without our knowledge.”

“I want that quoted on my tombstone if we don’t make it out of this.”

Peggy smirked, and slowly approached the door to the pharmacy, “Just do what Dad has taught us and we’ll be fine.”

“That’s what your tombstone will say.”

“You’re so pessimistic.”

“And you’re far too relaxed.”

Peggy shrugged and opened the door, James stepping in behind her.

They instantly found themselves in front of a Hydra operative, gun pointing at Peggy’s head.

The operative hestitated, “It’s just a couple kids,” he called towards the back of the store.

“Well make them go away!” Someone called back.

“Bored now,” Peggy quickly disarmed the man in front of her the way she’d been taught. James jumped in to help her contain the Hydra agent, and within moments he was knocked out and lying on the ground.

“See?” Peggy breathed. “Easy.”

James shook his head. “Mum and Dad are going to kill us.”

“Well, let’s make it worth it, then,” Peggy replied before moving further into the pharmacy.

James sensed moveent behind him, and automatically blocked a punch before he was instantly in a fight. He silently thanked his father for years worth of surprise attacks as he let loose a combination designed to quickly incapacitate the enemy. After a final knee to the gut and a carefully placed elbow to the back of the head, his opponent was down, and he turned to see Peggy standing over her own unconscious Hydra operative. 

He winced, suddenly feeling the tightness of his chest. He reached to his pocket before he realised. “Oh,” he breathed. “Uh, Peg? I maybe left my inhaler in the Compound.”

“Are you serious? We leave to battle bad guys and you forget to bring your inhaler?”

“I guess I was distracted.”

“Distracted? James, this is not the time for an asthma attack!”

“Yeah, I’m aware, I—” He was cut off when another Hydra operative appeared. He ducked an attack before turning to counter, trying hard to keep breathing deeply.

“James, breathe,” Peggy instructed from behind him.

“I’m trying!” he yelled back, “It’s actually rather difficult to do while having an asthma attack, you know.”

“Take a break, I got this.”

“No way in hell am I leaving you to fight Hydra on your own.”

James winced, then gasped as air suddenly filled his lungs, quickly and easily, as though he’d never had any problems with breathing at all. As quickly as the air entered, it left, and he was left watching as the Hydra operative in front of him flew backwards into a shelf.

“Uh…” James stared, slowly turning to Peggy, who had finished off her own opponent and was looking at him wide-eyed.

“Did you just… blow him away?” Peggy questioned. “Literally?”

“I… think so…” 

“James, have you ever had an asthma attack where you didn’t use your inhaler?”

“Not that I can remember.”

“And have you ever had an attack that wasn’t in the middle of a fight?”

“I don’t think so, no.”

“Yeah. I think we need to ask Mum and Dad some questions, because I’m not entirely sure you’re asthmatic.”

“Um. Yeah. I agree. And speaking of Mum and Dad, we should probably get back to the Compound before they realise we left.”

“What an excellent idea,” a third voice spoke, causing both of the twins to wince as they turned to face their parents. 

“After all,” their father continued, “We wouldn’t want your Dad to find out, would we?”


	11. Chapter 11

“I cannot believe you would be so irresponsible,” Steve stared down at your children, who were currently sitting on the couch in your apartment. “What you did was reckless, dangerous, and quite frankly, you could have gotten yourselves killed. What were you thinking?”

Peggy shrugged. “I just wanted to help. And it was fine, we took them down easy.”

“That’s completely irrelevant,” Steve argued. “What part of ‘stay in the compound’ don’t you understand?”

“The part where we have to sit here and watch Hydra try and take over the world when we know that we can do something about it!” Peggy shot back.

“You could have been hurt!” Steve argued.

“Steve,” you murmured, placing a hand on his arm. “Stop.”

He turned to stare at you.

You shook your head with a smile. “You would have done exactly the same thing.”

“I’ve been trained,” Steve replied.

“Yeah,” James murmured, “So have we.”

“I trained you so that you could fend for yourselves if Hydra or some other crazed criminal organisation came after you!” Steve cried. “It wasn’t so that you could hunt them down yourselves!”

“It wasn’t that bad, Dad,” Peggy spoke. “We checked with F.R.I.D.A.Y. before we left - we already knew that there were only five operatives and none of them were enhanced. We’re not stupid enough to go after the Red Skull himself, you know.”

James nodded in agreement.

Steve looked at you.

You laughed. “Don’t give me that look, Steve. You just got yourself captured by the Red Skull on purpose. Right now, they look like the smarter ones.”

“Wait… you what?” Peggy questioned.

James silently retrieved his ‘stupid shit your Dad’s done’ folder and a pen to scribble something on the back page.

“What is that?” Steve questioned.

James smiled and held up the folder so that Steve could see the title. “Sam gave it to me,” James explained. “I just added ‘purposely got captured by Red Skull’ to the list.”

Steve just blinked, open mouthed.

You laughed at his expression, “The point is, Steve, you are in no position to lecture your children about risky behaviour in order to stop Hydra. You’ve done much worse than they just did.”

“I thought you were meant to be on my side,” Steve replied.

“Oh, I agree with you completely,” you turned back towards your children. “What you did was insane. You had no idea what was out there, what level of training those operatives had, if you could actually take them on, not to mention the part where you flew a jet without a pilot.”

“F.R.I.D.A.Y. was—”

“F.R.I.D.A.Y. is not a pilot,” you argued. “What would have happened if something went wrong with the autopilot system? 

Peggy winced, “Guess we didn’t think about that.”

“But my point is,” you turned back to Steve, “You wouldn’t have thought about that either. If you were in their position, you would have done exactly the same thing.”

“Yeah, but I can fly a plane,” Steve responded.

James flipped through his folder until he found the page he was looking for, then read aloud, “Crashed plane into Arctic, freezing self for seventy years.”

“You know perfectly well why I crashed that plane.”

“And you couldn’t have just dropped the bombs into the arctic without the plane?” James asked

“I...”

“Could have jumped out of the plane,” Peggy added. “Apparently you don’t even need a parachute.”

“Uh...”

You just grinned, watching your flustered husband.

“You know what? This is not about my past mistakes,” Steve suddenly replied. “Besides, if I didn’t crash that plane, I’d never have met your mother, and you two would never have been born.”

“Yeah, but it was still dumb,” Peggy muttered.

“Regardless, you are both grounded.”

“What?” Peggy groaned, “But...”

“Doesn’t matter,” James shrugged, leaning back on the couch. “We can’t leave the Compound anyway.”

Steve turned to look at you again.

You just smiled sweetly, “It’s okay Steve. I think I have a better idea.”

The kids looked at you nervously.

“These two decided that they wanted to go on a mission, it’s only fitting that they see it through to the end,” you announced. “F.R.I.D.A.Y., I believe we need two mission report instruction manuals. Could you please send them up?”

As F.R.I.D.A.Y. confirmed your request, Steve started laughing. “That is brilliant.”

“That doesn’t seem so bad,” Peggy started.

You just smiled, waiting.

A moment later, there was a knock on the door and Sam entered, two large bundles of paper in has arms. “Uh, F.R.I.D.A.Y. says you need these,” he started offering, them to you.

“Thank you, Sam,” you took the manuals and handed one to each of your children

“May I ask why you need them?” Sam questioned.

“Well, our children here seem to think being an Avenger and going on their own missions sounds like fun. I believe it’s only fitting that they complete all the associated paperwork.”

Sam raised his eyebrows, “Are you trying to punish them?”

“Yes, absolutely,” you agreed with a grin.

Peggy stared down at her manual, flipping through the pages, “Can we be grounded instead?”

“No,” Steve replied. “As James so kindly pointed out, you can’t leave the Compound anyway.”

James groaned.

“Those are due no longer than forty-eight hours after the completion of any mission, so I suggest you get started,” Steve smiled.

“You two are evil,” Sam told you.

You shrugged. “The punishment fits the crime.”

“Yeah, says the woman who broke out of prison,” James muttered.

Sam snickered.

“You shush,” you pointed at Sam.

“And while you’re here, what is this?” Steve questioned, picking up James’ folder.

“That is a list of all the stupid shit you’ve ever done in your life,” Sam replied calmly. “At least, all the stuff I know about.”

“Okay, firstly, we need to have a talk about the language you use around my children.”

“Oh please, they’d hear worse at school,” Sam replied.

“James says worse at school,” Peggy spoke, smirking in a way that reminded you of her father. 

“Peg,” James wined.

Steve opened his mouth, looking at his son.

“Steve, I’ve been meaning to tell you,” you spoke. “The whole ‘language’ thing? I’m pretty sure that’s a battle you’re never going to win.”

Steve sighed.

“Well if that’s sorted, I have questions for you, Mr. ‘I don’t have any powers’,” Sam looked pointedly at James.

James raised his eyebrows. “How do you know about that?”

Sam hesitated. “You don’t know?” He asked, glancing around the room.

“Don’t know what?” Peggy asked.

“You two have gone viral,” Sam explained, pulling out his phone. “Someone uploaded the security footage from the pharmacy.” He held out the phone so that you could see the video of your kids fighting Hydra.

“Shit,” James muttered.

“Language,” Steve responded instantly.

You looked at your husband.

Steve sighed. “Okay, you might be right about the language thing.”

Sam grinned, “Don’t worry, no one can see your faces. First thing we did after finding out about it was make sure you couldn’t be identified.”

“Well that’s something, at least,” you breathed.

“Wait, no, you have to see this,” Peggy interrupted, “Look,” she pointed at the screen, just as a Hydra operative flew back into the shelving.

“Huh,” Steve muttered, before turning back to James. “Did you sneeze?”

James blinked, “Excuse me?”

You turned to your son, “You knocked over a wall when you were a toddler,” you explained. “By sneezing.”

“I what?”

“You mean James has had powers all this time?” Peggy asked.

Steve shrugged, glancing at you and then back to James. “We always thought there might be something there, but nothing happened after the wall incident. So we just figured if you had powers they would come through eventually and if you didn’t, then no harm done.”

“When did James have his first asthma attack?” Peggy asked.

“I don’t know, maybe a couple of weeks after the wall,” You looked at Steve, who nodded his agreement.

James nodded, “That,” he pointed to Sam’s phone, “Was the result of an asthma attack.”

You raised your eyebrows. “You didn’t take your inhaler?”

“I forgot, okay?”

Steve’s eyes widened. “James, rule one of living in the Compound is that you don’t get to go and fight bad guys. Rule two is if you are going to completely ignore rule one, you _take your inhaler!_ ”

“Really?” Sam asked, raising his eyebrows at Steve. “You are going to lecture your son about taking unnecessary risks in the field?”

“We already went through that, Sam,” you told him. 

“I didn’t die, alright?” James responded. “Besides, I’m starting to think I don’t actually have asthma.

Steve sighed. “I’ll take you to medical later, we’ll get a doctor to run some tests.”

“Haven’t I been tested before?” James asked.

“Not by anyone who thought you might have superpowers,” you explained.

Peggy raised her eyebrows, “You didn’t think to take him to a doctor who deals with superpowers?”

“Peggy, when your baby stops breathing, you take the baby to emergency,” you told her.

“Okay, that’s fair,” Peggy responded.

“Hey,” another voice interrupted as Bucky stepped into the room. “Are you two done reprimanding your children? Because we have a meeting to get to.”

Steve sighed. “Yeah, we’re done.”

“Can we come to the meeting?” Peggy asked.

“No,” you and Steve replied at the same time.

Bucky looked at the two of you, then started laughing.

“What?” Steve asked.

“That expression on your face,” Bucky grinned, “Is exactly how your Mum used to look when you did something stupid as kid.”

Steve raised his eyebrows.

Bucky just laughed, “Oh, what is that?” Bucky pointed to the folder Steve was still holding.

“All the stupid shit Steve’s ever done in his life,” Sam replied.

Bucky eyed the folder. “I doubt it. That folder’s nowhere near big enough.”

Sam shrugged with a small smile. “Feel free to make some additions.”

“I can definitely do that. Pass it here,” Bucky held out a hand.

“No, no,” Steve placed the folder down. “We have a meeting. Let’s go.” He began ushering people out the door.

Bucky grinned, “You too,” he pointed at you. “Tony says he wants Robin there.”

“Excellent, come on,” Steve grabbed your hand and tugged, pulling you out the door and into the Compound.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry! I know I've been away for a long time. Unfortunately life is pretty busy for me right now and it doesn't look like it's slowing down anytime soon. 
> 
> I was hoping to add to and edit this chapter a bit more before posting, but at this point I just want to get something up and continue the story along! So there's a lot of planning in this one, but hopefully we'll be back to the action for the next chapter.
> 
> Thank you for all your wonderful comments & kudos so far! Hope you enjoy!

“Damn, Robin,” Clint grinned as you entered the meeting room. “That’s one hell of a super suit.”

“Give the compliments to Tony,” you replied with a smile.

“How’d it go?” Tony asked you.

“It was fantastic,” you replied. “I think I can break through even more of your security systems now.”

Tony raised his eyebrows. “You try anything funny and I’m taking that back.”

You chuckled and sat next to Clint while Steve took Tony aside, no doubt to lecture him on the dangers of sending you out into the field.

“What’re we doing?” You asked, leaning over the table, where Natasha was scribbling in a notebook. 

“They are taking bets on your children’s lives,” Nat replied. “I told them that it wasn’t really appropriate, but they don’t seem to care. So I figured that if I can’t get them to stop placing morally questionable bets, I’m at least going to make this fair.”

“So you’re the bookie now,” you concluded.

“Damn straight. Clint, what’s your money on?”

“Fifteen,” Clint replied before turning to you. “The current bet is how old James will be when he gets his first girlfriend. You want in?”

“Come on, Clint, it’s really not appropriate for a mother to make bets like that,” Sam responded, before turning to Nat. “Can I bet on age seventeen?”

Nat hummed a confirmation, writing Sam’s name in her notebook.

You smiled, considering the bet. “So how does this work exactly?”

“Everyone bets a hundred,” Natasha explains. “Winner takes the lot.”

“Sweet,” Bucky sat down across from you. “Put me down for fourteen.”

You shifted in your seat, smiling, “Actually, I think I would like to get in on this bet.”

“Really?” Sam asked.

“With one condition,” you continued, looking to Natasha, “My hundred dollars says that James will never have a girlfriend.”

“Wow,” Clint stared at you. “That’s a bit harsh, isn’t it?”

“Not at all. I’m pretty sure the kid’s gay,” you responded with a grin.

“Can you bet that?” Sam asked, turning to Natasha. “Can she bet that?”

Nat turned to you, and you just winked.

Nat shrugged. “I don’t see an issue with it.” She wrote something in her book, just as Steve came to sit next to you.

“Did you try to lecture Tony about sending your helpless wife into the field?” You asked Steve softly.

“Maybe,” he murmured.

“And did he tell you that’s irrelevant when the reason your wife is in the field is because getting yourself captured by the Redskull just to gather information is a dumbass move?”

“Note quite so eloquently, no,” Steve mumbled. 

Clint blinked, staring at Steve. “I’m sorry, did you get captured on purpose?”

“Yeah, that’s going on the list,” Bucky murmured, pulling out James’ folder and placing it on the table.

“How did you get that?” Steve cried.

“I’m the world’s most feared assassin,” Bucky applied, “You think I can’t sneak a folder out of your apartment without you knowing?” He flipped through the folder, “Oh hey, it’s already here.”

“Yes, my son already added it,” Steve explained. “Can we get to the actual meeting part now?”

“Let’s do that,” Tony announced, coming to sit at the table. “Alright Steve, we are all in agreement that what you did was super dumb, but did you at least learn anything?”

“I did,” Steve confirmed, leaning forward. “The Skull’s trying to coax America into starting World War III.”

“Tell us something we don’t know,” Bucky muttered.

“All Hydra’s terror attacks are really just attempting to do what it says on the tin - scare people, cause panic, the basics. They plan to get everyone living here terrified, then spread a chemical they’ve developed. Apparently it basically takes away our logical thought patterns. Make us act purely on emotions like fear and hate.”

“So first we kill each other, then the rest of the world,” Tony concluded.

“Pretty much.”

“Alright, we know the plan,” Nat spoke. “Now how do we stop it.”

“First way is to stop Hydra before they can fully execute their plan,” Steve replied. “We take out Hydra, it doesn’t matter what chemicals they’ve developed.”

“Plan B,” Sam continued, “Stop them from spreading the chemical before it’s too late.”

“And plan C,” Tony sighed, “Make a cure.”

“Let’s see if we can put all the plans into action,” Steve decided. “We’ll go after Hydra as hard and fast as we can, in the meantime, we need to find a way to get more information on the chemical and any plans they have to use it.”

“Actually, I might be able to help with that,” you put forward.

Steve turned to you, “I don’t want you sneaking into any more Hydra bases.”

“Not what I was going to suggest,” you replied. “I was in that base, I hacked that security system. I know exactly what kind of technology they’re using. And I’m guessing that Hydra have more than one base, right?”

“Yeah, of course,” Steve nodded.

“Then they’re probably sharing their research on some type of cloud. At the very least, they’ll be backing it up in case the Avengers find their base and they have to evacuate quickly.”

Tony raised his eyebrows. “You think you can hack Hydra?”

“I can try. You get me the right technology and I won’t even have to leave the Compound.”

Tony nodded, “Technology shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Alright. Let’s do it,” Steve agreed.

“Good, now, next topic on the agenda is this,” Tony pointed to a screen behind him, showing a still image from the video of your children in the pharmacy.

Steve groaned, placing his head in his hands.

You sighed, “No one saw them, right? So we’re all good.”

“Not quite,” Tony replied. “No one saw them, but they sure as hell noticed you,” he loaded another image, this one showing a zoomed-in image from the video, clearly showing you and Steve staring down your children.

“Fantastic,” Steve breathed. 

“CapWatch is having a ball with this,” Tony continued. “They think it’s proof that Robin is back in the country.”

“That’s because it is proof that Robin is back in the country,” Nat responded.

Steve sighed. “So? Does it matter?”

“Well, I just got to thinking,” Tony started, “You still haven’t made a public statement on your return.”

“That’s because—”

“You hate the P.R. drama, I know. I just thought we could kill a few birds with one stone. You respond to the million questions the public has about your disappearance and eventual reappearance, we can confirm that Robin’s basically an Avenger now and let everyone know that the super-powered kids are working with us.”

“They’re not working with us,” Steve quickly corrected.

“We kind of need the public to believe they are, Steve,” Tony replied. “Otherwise they’re just vigilante kids. We can explain they broke the rules by being there if it makes you feel better.”

Steve sighed, turning to you. “What do you think?”

You shrugged. “I guess we do need to set the record straight. Last thing anybody knows about us is that we broke out of prison and ran away.”

“And the kids?” Steve asked.

“We protect their identities,” Tony offered. “No one has to know exactly who the kids are, just that they’re in our care.”

“Okay,” Steve turned back to Tony. “Then what do you propose?”

“I propose I do a live streamed interview with the two of you. That way we know that you won’t get any awkward journalist questions, but we can still answer some questions and clear up some of the public concerns.”

Steve sighed. “Alright, works for me.”

“Me too,” you agreed.

“Excellent,” Tony smiled, “I’ll get the preparations underway.” He stood with a smile and left the room, muttering to F.R.I.D.A.Y. on the way out.

“Hey Steve?” you spoke as the other Avengers began to take their leave.

“Yeah?”

“What’s the best way to make Tony look like an idiot in the middle of a live streamed interview?”

Steve looked at you, slowly smirking. “Oh, I like the way you think.”


	13. Chapter 13

You woke slowly, blinking your eyes open to sunlight streaming through the window. You winced and rolled over to find that you were now facing your husband.

“Morning,” he murmured sleepily.

“Hi,” you replied. “Aren’t you meant to be at training?”

Steve shook his head. “Apparently when I fight in a battle, get myself captured, escape with my wife and then find my children have invented their own missions all in one day, I should rest the next day.”

“You’re taking a rest day? Really?”

Steve smiled and reached over to you, dragging you towards him. You landed on his chest, and quickly cuddled into him as his arms wrapped around you. “I tried to go train, but the Avengers ganged up on me and forced me back to bed.”

You chuckled. “They’re probably right, you know. Taking a day off won’t be the end of the world.”

Steve sighed, pressing a kiss to the top of your head. You stayed there for a while, just enjoying each other’s company, until the two of you decided it was time to check on your kids and speak to someone about James’ potential superpowers.

When you entered the shared living area of your apartment, you found James and Peggy casually chatting while they ate breakfast.

You blinked in surprise. “You’re already up?”

“Yeah, we got up early to finish our reports,” Peggy replied. “We emailed them to you,” she told Steve.

Steve’s eyes widened. “You already finished?”

“Yep,” James grinned. “We figured you were right, if we’re going on missions, we should do the report.”

“Actually, we were thinking,” Peggy leaned forward. “We want in.”

“You want in on what?” you asked.

“Avenging,” Peggy replied. “Think about it - we didn’t get in trouble because we took down five Hydra goons. We got in trouble because we tried to do it without telling anyone. So we thought maybe it would be okay if we still helped, but you knew that we were doing it.”

Steve stared, open mouthed at the two of them.

“Oh yeah,” you nodded, “They definitely take after you.”

“Are you crazy?” Steve asked.

“Apparently not as crazy as you,” James responded. “Have you read this?” James held up the _Stupid Shit Your Dad’s Done_ folder, now with even more pages thanks to Bucky.

“You could be killed,” Steve argued.

“So could you,” Peggy replied calmly. “We’re not saying we want to go fight the Red Skull. Just that maybe, when there’s a smaller mission that is relatively simple, you could send us. That way the more experienced Avengers are still available for bigger issues.”

Steve sighed, taking a seat. “Look, I get where you’re coming from, alright? I’ve been the person who wants to help and can’t—”

“That’s the thing Dad,” Peggy interrupted. “We actually _can_ help. We’re just not allowed to.”

Steve sighed again. “Being a hero - being an Avenger - it’s a lot more than just helping people. Sure, that’s part of it, but it’s also reports and press and everyone knowing who you are. And if you make a mistake out there, people get hurt. Sometimes people even die. That’s not something I want you to be worrying about right now. You’re twelve - you should be thinking about school and friends and whether or not you should join the football team next season. Not saving the world. That’s my job, not yours.”

“What if people get hurt and we could have stopped it?” Peggy asked.

“That’s not on you,” Steve replied.

“Kinda feels like it is,” James murmured. “We have the ability to help, so why wouldn’t we?”

“Spoiler alert,” Peggy added, “‘Because Dad says no’ is not a good answer.”

Steve sighed, rubbing his temples with his hand. 

“If, when you’re of age, you decide this is something you still want to do, then we will support you,” you spoke gently. “But until then, it’s better for everyone if you stay out of it.”

“That’s stupid, but fine,” Peggy muttered. “But if we go behind your back again because everyone else in this building is busy, don’t be surprised.”

“Peg…” Steve warned.

“Come on, Dad. You gonna tell me you wouldn’t do exactly the same thing?”

Steve just sighed, looking over at you.

You shrugged and shared a look with Steve that suggested you discuss this problem sometime when the children weren't around.

“And while we’re having uncomfortable conversations,” James started, before taking a large breath. “Dad… I’m gay.”

Steve looked at James. “Uh… Okay.”

“Is that it?” James asked.

“Yeah. I mean,” Steve looked at you, “Is there meant to be more?”

You stepped forward, "Steve, James is concerned that you’re going to disown him.”

Steve’s eyes widened. “For being gay?”

You nodded.

“People still do that? That’s ridiculous!” Steve swiftly moved to tightly hug your son. “Of course not! You’re not going anywhere.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really! James, I don’t care if you want to kiss a boy. Just make sure he’s cute first.”

James blinked. “Are you serious?”

“Actually no, you’re right,” Steve took a step back, resting a hand on James’ shoulder. “Personality is much more important.”

“But what will people think if they see Captain America’s kid dating a guy?”

“Hopefully that you’re a cute couple,” Steve responded, smiling. “James, if people have a problem with you dating boys, then that’s their issue. Not ours.”

“You’re not worried you might lose fans if this ever gets out?”

“Not really, no,” Steve replied. “You know, your mother was worried about what people would think if the world ever found out I was dating a criminal.”

“And what happened?” James asked.

“Some people thought I was no longer worthy of being Captain America, but most people thought it was hilarious and liked me a lot more after it. I actually gained more fans than I lost,” Steve explained. “But honestly, what the public think really doesn’t matter, as long as I can do my job.”

“If you don’t care what people think, then why are you doing this interview with Tony?” Peggy asked.

“Basically just to shove it in the faces of all the people that told us your mother had to go to jail and serve her sentence,” Steve replied with a smirk.

“You know that Tony’s building a stage, right?” James asked. “I thought it was meant to be small.”

“Yeah, but it’s Tony,” you replied. “His idea of small is quite different to everyone else’s.”

“We just figure that the bigger he makes it, the more fun it will be to make him look like a fool,” Steve spoke.

Peggy looked between you. “I can’t believe your favourite hobby is antagonising Tony Stark.”

Steve shrugged. “It’s fun.” With a smile, Steve stood. “Now, let me get some breakfast and then we’ll take you to get those powers checked out.”

* * *

James and Peggy followed a few steps behind Steve as he lead the way to the training room. They’d already been to the Medbay where they some tests and concluded that James was definitely not asthmatic. In fact, his lungs were working far better than the average person’s. Now they apparently were going to try and give James an ‘asthma attack’ to see if he could knock things over with his breath.

Peggy nudged James as they walked. “By the way - I told you.”

“Told me what?”

“That Mum and Dad would be totally cool with you being gay.”

James let out a laugh. “I guess you’re right.”

“So… you gonna ask Aidan out now?”

“No. Definitely not,” James replied.

“But—“

“Just listen. I was thinking… maybe I should just tell him I’m gay. That way I’m not making any moves on him, so he shouldn’t be too uncomfortable, but he knows I might be open to a relationship with him if that’s what he wants.”

Peggy considered. “Actually yeah, that could work. Message him.”

James laughed. “I’m not going to do it right now.”

“Why not?”

“Because that’s a conversation you should have when you have time to talk, not when you’re about to jump into a training room and see if you can use the superpowers you didn’t even know you had. I’ll do it tonight.”

“Okay,” Peggy nodded. “That works. Just don’t chicken out.”

“I won’t chicken out,” James promised as they entered the main training area.

A man and a woman seemed to be waiting for them to arrive. The woman instantly grinned and hugged Steve.

“Is that…” Peggy whispered.

“I think it’s the Scarlet Witch,” James muttered.

Peggy’s eyes widened. “Awesome.”

“Hey Vis,” Steve greeted, hugging the man.

“And you must be the twins,” the woman spoke, walking over to them. “I’m Wanda.”

James smiled and introduced himself before Peggy quickly did the same.

Wanda nodded and smiled sadly.

The man approached and put his arm around her. “Doing okay?” he asked gently.

“Of course,” Wanda smiled. “Just brings back memories.”

“Wanda lost her twin brother on a mission,” Steve explained. “Every time she sees twins she just sort of…”

“Remembers,” Wanda finished. “But we’re not here to mourn my brother’s death. Just…” Wanda looked between the two of them. “Take care of each other.”

James looked sideways at Peggy, trying - and failing - to imagine what it would be like to live without her.

Peggy bit her lip, looking back at James and quickly responded. “Sure, as long as he doesn’t eat my food.”

“How can I possibly eat your food?” James asked with a smile. “You levitate it to the highest shelf you can find. I couldn’t reach it if I wanted to.”

“If this works, you might be able to just blow it down,” Peggy suggested.

“Oh, see, now you’re giving me ideas,” James responded.

Wanda chuckled, looking at the man with her.

“This is Vision,” Steve introduced. 

“Oh,” Peggy raised her eyebrows. “I thought you were a robot.”

“Don’t be rude,” James whispered.

“It’s alright,” Vision responded. “Ever since my creation I’ve been evolving. Now I’m somewhere between human and machine, becoming more human everyday. But I’ve found that not showing my human form to the public gives me a kind of privacy I wouldn’t otherwise enjoy.” 

“That’s actually pretty cool,” Peggy remarked.

“Well,” Steve smiled, “Wanda and Vision are experienced in working out how to use quite a range of different powers, so when I heard they were getting back from their mission yesterday, I asked for their help.”

Wanda nodded. “Let’s see if we can get your powers under control, shall we?”

James smiled. “Yeah.”

* * *

“Hey Birdie,” Tony greeted without looking up from whatever mechanical contraption he was working on.

“Tony,” you smiled. 

“Just give me a sec…” his voice trailed off as he tinkered with his object a bit more, then he turned his attention to you. “Right. I’ve got a setup just over here that’s going to be perfect for you,” he spoke, leading you through the lab. “Got any news about your kid’s powers?”

“Well, we know he’s not asthmatic,” you replied. “Steve’s taking him down to work with Wanda and Vision now. See if they can help him get some sort of control over it.”

“And yet you don’t seem overly excited,” Tony grinned.

“I had enough problems trying to keep those two out of trouble when only one of them had superpowers,” you replied.

Tony laughed. “You know what that is? It’s karma. You’re not exactly good at keeping out of trouble yourself.”

You smiled. “Yeah. I know.”

Tony chuckled. “Did you find a way to stop them from running off on their own missions yet?”

“They’ve now decided that they should actually be Avengers, so I’m going to say no.”

“That’s really not such a bad idea,” Tony mused.

“Are you serious?” you questioned.

“Yeah. I mean, they’re going on missions anyway, right? So at least if they were official, we could make sure they were only ever on missions that we knew they could handle, we’d always know where they were, they’d have better protection in an actual suit, and we could send an Avenger to babysit whenever they went out on a mission.”

“You’re insane,” you told Tony.

You stopped walking in front of a desk with a large computer on it. 

“I’m practical,” Tony responded. “If your kids are anything like you and your husband - which they are - you’re not going to be able to stop them from going off on their own little missions. And if you can’t stop the kids from going on missions, you can at least control what missions they go on,” he gestured to the computer, “If anything in this building will help you hack Hydra, this is it.”

You nodded. “Thanks.”

Tony nodded. “Just think about it,” he told you. “You might find that making the kids Junior Avengers isn’t the worst idea in the world.”

You shrugged, taking a seat at the computer.

“And don’t work too hard,” Tony told you as he was leaving, “I’ve got one hell of an interview planned for you tomorrow.”


	14. Chapter 14

“You ready for this?” Steve asked, keeping his voice down so that Tony wouldn’t overhear.

“Absolutely,” you grinned. “Just like old times, right?”

“Only bigger and better,” Steve agreed.

You nodded, taking in a steady breath.

“Hey,” Steve placed his hands on your waist, looking into your eyes, “You’re going to do great.”

You smiled, “I’m just used to staying unseen, that’s all.”

“Well, they’re going to love you. You’ll see.”

Steve gently pressed his lips to yours, just as Tony walked through the room, ruining your moment.

“Alright, we’re all here, let’s go over this one last time,” Tony called. “I go out there, chat to the audience a bit, and then I’ll introduce Cap.”

“Tony, we’ve been over this,” Steve sighed.

Tony continued, pointedly ignoring Steve’s comment, “Then we’ll talk about some stuff and eventually I ask you where Robin is, and you say—”

“She’s backstage, then I come get her, and we complete the interview together,” Steve finished. “We’ve got this, Tony.”

“And no funny business from either of you,” Tony glared at each of you in turn.

“Us?” you asked, “We would never.”

“Of course,” Steve replied with a smirk, “We’re on our best behaviour.”

“Now why don’t I believe you?” Tony murmured.

“Mr. Stark,” someone from the camera crew entered the room, “We’re ready to go live in ten seconds.”

“Excellent, I’ll see the two of you out there.” Tony straightened his jacket and stood tall before walking through the door to the stage area.

Steve looked at you, smirking, “I’ll see you soon.”

You just grinned before you turned and walked out of the room to where Clint was waiting in the hallway.

“Someone requested a merry man,” Clint spoke with a smile.

“Absolutely,” you smiled as the two of you started making your way through the halls.

“I can’t believe you two are planning to screw with Tony in front of a live studio audience.”

“Well, we were going to screw with Tony to a small audience on a livestream, but Tony decided to turn it into a massive event. So really, he’s only got himself to blame.”

Clint laughed, turning a corner and stopping. “This one?”

You nodded, “This should take me right above Tony’s stage. I just need a little help reaching it once I’ve deactivated the security,” you looked back at Clint. “Tony decided that raising the vents so that they were too high for me to reach would keep me from crawling through them.”

“You do know that Tony has upgraded these systems a few times since you arrived.”

“I’ve cracked every new code he’s come up with,” you replied with a grin, “F.R.I.D.A.Y.’s much easier to work around now that I’m actually a registered inhabitant of the Compound.”

Clint chuckled as you pulled out your phone and connected it to the security systems. Moments later, Clint was giving you a boost so that you could reach the vent, pull off the cover and start crawling towards your destination.

It took you only a few moments to arrive above the stage, and your eyes widened. You were looking down on Tony, confidently chatting with a large group of fans. You knew there would be a lot of people here - Tony had released two-hundred tickets on CapWatch, and they’d all been claimed within four minutes - but it wasn’t until you saw the crowd that you realised just how many people ‘two-hundred’ was.

You settled above the grate so that you could watch the scene below you until it was time to make your appearance. 

The crowd was cheering as Steve walked on stage, and he smiled uncomfortably, performing a little wave. Tony clapped him on the back and led him to some lounge chairssitting on stage. The two sat opposite each other, with Tony leaning forward.

“Now Steve,” Tony spoke once the crowd calmed down. “It’s been fifteen years since we’ve heard from you publicly. The last we saw of you was a video of you making out with a convicted criminal.”

Steve smiled, blushing slightly.

“Next thing we know, Robin’s broken out of prison and you are missing. So, Captain, we all want to know - what the actual hell?”

The crowd laughed, and Steve chuckled along with them.

“Let’s back this up to the start, shall we?” Tony asked, leaning back in his chair. “How did you meet Robin, and how did you get together.”

“I met her at a party,” Steve responded with a smile. “I thought she was one of your guests. Turns out she actually snuck in to rob you.”

Tony nodded, “And when did you find out her identity?”

“The next morning, when I found out she’d actually robbed you,” Steve grinned. “She told me that she’d done it the night before, I just thought she was joking.”

“Right, and when you find out she wasn’t joking, you decided that you would tell absolutely no one?”

“Pretty much, yeah.”

Tony held out his hand towards Steve, “Captain America, ladies and gentlemen.”

A few members of the crowd cheered, causing Steve to laugh.

“After that,” Steve continued his story, “We became friends. And we started to noticed how mad you got whenever she managed to break through your security systems, so she did it more. Eventually, when it started getting too hard for her to break in on her own, I started helping.”

“Actually, I believe we have some footage of this,” Tony spoke, turning to look at a large screen behind him. The screen lit up, showing video of the Avengers and the security guards racing through Stark Tower in search of their intruder. 

Steve laughed, “Oh, that was a fun one. That was the time she set off every alarm in the building.”

Tony sighed, shaking his head. “And I believed that you couldn’t possibly have anything to do with it at the time.”

“Yeah,” Steve grinned. “That made it even funnier.” Steve shifted in his seat. “I guess one thing kind of lead to another and...” Steve shrugged. “I fell for her.”

“Okay,” Tony continued, “So we all know what happened next. We went on a mission, Robin got arrested, you made out on live TV, we had some arguments with the legal system and all of that came to a head when Robin escaped from prison and you disappeared. So, let’s settle a debate that’s been going on for the last fifteen years,” Tony leaned forward, a mischievous glint in his eye. “Steve Rogers… Did you break Robin out of prison?”

Steve smirked. “I did.”

You winced at the roar the crowd made, screaming and shouting at this revelation. They only quietened down when the screen displayed the image that had been circulating online of you and Steve staring down your children.

“This,” Tony pointed to the screen, “Is an outtake from a viral video of what appears to be two teenagers fighting Hydra. Now quite clearly, that’s you,” Tony pointed to Steve’s picture. “But there’s quite a theory going around about the other lovely lady here that we thought you might be able to confirm or deny.”

“It’s Robin!” Someone in the crowd screamed.

“Exactly,” Tony grinned. “Is that Robin?”

Steve smiled, waiting a moment before he answered, “Yes.”

“So that must mean,” Tony continued over the noise of the crowd, “That Robin’s back in the country.”

Steve just nodded.

Tony leaned forward, “Can you tell us where Robin is now?”

Steve grinned, “I believe she’s currently testing out your security systems.”

Tony hesitated, “What?”

You leant down to switch on your microphone before speaking. “FYI Tony, your new systems suck.”

The entire crowd went silent while Tony’s eyes widened in horror. “You didn’t,” Tony murmured.

You quickly removed the grate, “Present for you, Tony,” you spoke before dropping it onto the stage.

With a grin, you dropped down after it, landing on the stage in front of a stunned, silent audience. 

“Everyone,” Steve stood, approaching you with a smile. “I thought you might like to meet my wife.”

The silence from the crowd erupted into cheering, and you couldn’t help your smile. Steve put an arm around your shoulders, kissing you on the cheek before the two of you approached Tony, who was glaring at you, open mouthed.

Tony slowly pointed towards the ventilation system, “Do you know how many extra security systems I put on that before today?”

“Yes,” you replied with a grin, “I deactivated them all.” You and Steve both sat down on his chair.

Tony sighed, while the audience started to finally calm down.

“Well, as you have all worked out now,” Tony spoke, “This is Robin, who has apparently graduated to making a fool of me in front of live audiences.”

Steve chuckled, while you grinned.

“Now you,” Tony spoke directly to you, “Have never made a live appearance. Even your trial was kept quiet.”

“That’s because there wasn’t much of a trial,” you replied with a smile. “A judge asked if I robbed a lot of rich people of a lot of money. I said yes. End of story.”

“Why didn’t you decide to fight the charges?”

“Because I was guilty as hell,” you laughed.

“Right, and you figured you could just break out,” Tony assumed.

“Actually, I had every intention of serving my sentence. I got a pretty good plea deal, and figured with good behaviour I could get out early. I only broke out because Steve talked me into it.”

“You’re telling me,” Tony began with a smile, “That Steve Rogers, the noble Captain America, came up with the idea to break you out of prison.”

“Yep,” you replied.

Steve just smirked.

“And what do you have to say to that, Steve?” Tony asked.

“Yeah, that was me.” Steve smiled, “This woman had been sent to prison because she took a huge risk to help us save the world. Had she not done that, she would never have been caught. So I thought it was a little unfair. Also, I was kind of in love with her, so I might have been a little selfish too.”

Tony smiled, turning back to you. “Getting back to why you were in prison to start with,” he began, “You robbed some of the richest people in the country.”

“I did,” you grinned proudly.

“Okay, well there’s a lot of speculation about your crimes, so could you clear this up for us?”

You nodded, “Of course.”

“First of all, why? And secondly, how?”

You smiled, “Well I think the first one is fairly self-explanatory. There’s a lot of people in the world who need help. And then there's the people who can actually help them. People with a lot of money that they don't need. Thing is, those people who actually can help usually don't. So I thought I'd force their hand. See if some good can come out of it."

“I feel the need to point out here that one of those rich people was Tony,” Steve grinned.

“Yes, we know, Steve,” Tony smiled as the audience laughed.

“Just making sure,” Steve grinned, before looking at you.

“As for how I did it, I think I’ll keep that to myself. I don't intend to teach anyone else how to rob people, given that most thieves aren't as responsible with stolen money as I am. Although…” you looked at the audience. “We could hack Tony’s bank account right now,” you suggested.

You smiled when the audience cheered, turning back to Tony.

“Give it your best shot,” Tony grinned. “I started my own online banking company after the first time you robbed me. The best cyber security experts money can buy work on it. We've employed a lot of people to try and hack that system. No one's ever succeeded.”

“That just sounds like a challenge. Let me pull out my trusty StarkPhone,” you pulled the item out of your pocket before turning to Steve. “You have something for me?”

Steve grinned and pulled a folded piece of paper out of his own pocket.

“What’s that?” Tony asked as you took the paper from Steve.

“It’s your bank statement,” you replied with a smile. “I got Steve to print one off last time he was in your office.”

Tony stared. “How long have you two been planning this?”

Steve laughed. “You asked us to do a live interview with you. Literally the first thing we did when you left the room was plan to break through your security systems,” he gestured to the grate that you had entered through, “And rob you.” Steve pointed to the piece of paper you were unfolding.”

“Actually, I’m not allowed to rob you. I’ll end up in prison again.” You looked up from the piece of paper and smiled sweetly. “May I please hack into your bank account and borrow a lot of money with no intention of giving it back?”

Tony sighed. “If you succeed in hacking my account, I will let you donate a million dollars to charity.”

“Thank you, Tony!” you turned to your StarkPhone and started tapping the screen.

Tony looked at the audience, “I hope you’re enjoying this, because it’s the last interview I ever do with them,” he pointed at you and Steve.

You grinned, "We thought that might be the case."

Steve chuckled while you continued tapping on the screen of your phone.

“While she’s doing that,” Tony spoke, “We have to ask - who are the kids?” Tony pointed at the screen, where the image of you and Steve staring at your children was still displayed. 

“That information is classified,” Steve replied. “But I can confirm that they were absolutely not meant to be there, and they are now grounded for pulling that little stunt.”

"Here we go," you muttered, "Nearly there." 

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” Tony replied.

“You really still doubt me, Tony?” you asked. “After all we’ve been through?”

“Well, some of the best people in the world worked on that system. There’s no shame in not being able to crack it.”

“Doesn’t matter,” you grinned, turning your phone screen to face him. “I’m in.”

“No way,” Tony leant forward to get a better look at your screen. “Damn. Guess I need to have a meeting with my security team.”

You turned to the audience. “Anyone know of any charities that could use some cash?”

* * *

Steve couldn’t stop smiling when the two of you walked off stage, his arm around you. “You did great,” he praised, kissing you on the head.

“You didn’t do so bad yourself,” you told him.

"On your best behaviour," Tony muttered as he entered the room, looking between the two of you. "Really?"

"What did you expect, Tony?" you asked with a laugh. 

"She's right," Tony spoke. "I should've known better. 

“Steve,” Bucky burst through the door, interrupting your conversation. “Sorry guys. Great show and all but…” he turned to you. “The program you left running to hack Hydra worked. We got something.”

“Yeah?” you asked, glancing at Steve.

“Yeah. Steve, you're gonna want to see this.”


	15. Chapter 15

It seemed like the entirety of the Avengers were gathered in Tony’s lab, waiting for you to arrive. 

You made your way around the various inventions scattered around the lab to the computer and sat down in front of it. “Let’s see what we’ve got,” you murmured as you began typing. Moments later, you were looking at Hydra’s private cloud.

It took you a few minutes of sorting through files and folders until you found what you were looking for. “Okay, science boys,” you called out as you clicked through to a document. “This one’s for you.”

Tony and Bruce made their way to the front of the gathered crowd, as well as someone else you’d never met before. You blinked just as Steve stared at the newcomer.

“Oh, this is Peter,” Tony introduced. “He’s the head of science at Stark Industries.”

“The head of science has Avengers level clearance?” Steve asked, raising his eyebrows.

Peter snorted. “No one asks questions when I’m kicking Hydra’s butt in Brooklyn, but I offer to help with a biochemical weapon and everyone suddenly has concerns.”

Steve hesitated, “Sorry?”

“You really have missed a lot, Steve,” Bucky spoke, patting him gently on the shoulder. “The kid’s Spider-Man.”

You turned to stare at the man who was currently looking over your shoulder.

“Seriously? I mean, no offence,” Steve stated, “But you look way too young to be Spider-Man. You would’ve had to have started at—”

“Fourteen,” Peter confirmed. “I got my powers when I was fourteen.”

Steve sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Two years time and our kids could be Spider-Man,” he muttered.

Sam laughed, “I’ve might be wrong, but I don’t think your kids are gonna wait two years.”

“Don’t remind me,” Steve moaned.

Tony turned to you, “Have we got any idea of how they intend to spread this?” He pointed to the screen.

You started clicking through files. “I’ve got several maps here, New York, the subway system, water supply—”

“That one,” three men said at the same time.

“Water supply?” you clicked through to the map in question.

“The way they’ve designed that stuff, it’s going to look and feel exactly like water,” Peter explained. “Probably tastes like water too. They’ll just put it in the water supply and no one will know they’ve consumed it until it’s too late.”

“Okay, then we need to make sure that doesn’t happen,” Steve started.

You smirked, “I suggest we steal it.”

Steve looked at you, hands on his hips. “Really?”

You gestured to the computer. “We know where it is, we know when they plan to release it. So I just sneak in a couple of hours early and swap it out for actual water.”

“So they’ll contaminate the water supply with water,” Sam concluded. “I like it.”

“I don’t,” Steve responded.

“Oh, honey, is this about me going into the field again? I gotta tell you, breaking into Hydra isn’t hard.”

Steve sighed. “Are you going to listen to me if I try and stop you?”

“I’ll listen, but I’ll probably still do it anyway. Unless you have a better plan.”

“Unfortunately I don’t,” Steve replied. “Anyone else?”

There were a few murmurs and shrugs around the room before Tony spoke, “I think her plan’s the best we’ve got, Cap.”

“Great,” Steve turned to you. “Then what next?”

“For now, we have to wait. If I steal this before they finish running tests, they’ll notice it’s changed. This has to be timed perfectly. By the look of this, Hydra are going to be staging an attack to try and distract you from the release of the chemical, so I suggest we use that to our advantage. You keep them busy, I’ll swap the chemical for water, and everyone’s happy.”

“And if something goes wrong?” Steve asked. “What if you get caught?”

“There’s a Reason you’ve been training me all these years, Captain,” you replied with a smile.

Steve shook his head, “You’re all the same aren’t you? You and the kids just waiting for the opportunity to throw yourself in harms way—”

“You say that like we’re not just following your example,” you countered.

“Yeah, well,” Steve turned to the others, “Are we done then?”

“For now,” Tony nodded.

“Great,” Bucky announced as he turned to leave. As the other Avengers filtered out of the lab, you turned to Steve and nodded.

“Tony,” Steve spoke up, “Could we borrow you for a moment?”

“Sure thing,” Tony turned to look to the two of you. “What’s up?”

“We’re kind of in a predicament when it comes to our kids,” Steve explained. “We don’t want to encourage them to go and fight bad guys, but we don’t want them to be left unprotected either.”

You smiled and put a hand on Steve’s arm. “We were thinking that maybe you could help us put something in place. We don’t want them to know about it, but if they suddenly decide they’re going to fight Hydra and we’re not there to stop them, we want to make sure that they’ll be safe.”

Tony smiled, leaning against the desk. “What did you have in mind?”

* * *

When you finally got back to the apartment, you were done. After the meeting, Steve had trained you for two hours. Then the other Avengers got involved. It was ridiculous really, it wasn’t like you couldn’t handle breaking into a Hydra base, but everyone wanted to make sure you were ‘ready’. The result was you covered in sweat, muscles aching as you slowly made your way into your apartment. Steve smirked as he watched you make your way to the lounge room, where you found your Peggy pacing through the living room and muttering under her breath.

You frowned, and looked at James, who sat slouched on the couch. “Peg, it’s fine,” he told her.

“It is not fine. It is absolutely not fine. I swear to god-”

“What’s going on?” Steve asked, looking between your children.

“James’ best friend is an asshole,” Peggy told you.

James snorted. “I think it’s safe to say that he’s no longer my best friend, Peg.”

“I’m gonna kill him,” Peggy muttered.

“You’re not going to kill him,” James sighed before turning to you and Steve. “I came out to him and he told me that he never wants to speak to me ever again.”

Your eyes widened, “Seriously? Are you okay?”

James shrugged. “I mean, I’m not exactly happy about it. I think Peggy’s taking it worse than I am though.”

“Okay, you two need to know that I’m not overreacting right now,” Peggy said to you. “Yes, the guy is an absolute dick, but do you know how I found out about this? I got a message asking if it’s true that James tried to kiss Aidan, which means that the guy is now out there spreading rumours as well.”

You raised your eyebrows, turning to James. 

“Like I said,” James spoke, “No longer my best friend.”

Peggy sighed, “I told them none of it’s true, but it’s not exactly like we can do much when we’re hiding away here.”

Steve looked at you briefly before turning his attention to James. “Do you want to go back?”

“Yeah,” James confirmed, “But not right now. Do what you have to with Red Skull first.”

“You know,” Peggy said softly, “We could just stay here. We don’t need to go back.”

“I know, but honestly I think Aidan might like that. So I’m going to let him run free for a little bit, then when we get back I’ll go and set the record straight.”

You looked at Steve.

“Okay,” Steve agreed, “We’ll stop Red Skull, then we’ll go home and on one condition.”

Peggy and James looked at Steve expectantly.

“You put him in his place the next time you see him.”

James smirked, “Oh, I will.”


	16. Chapter 16

“Are you sure about this?” Steve asked, watching you closely.

“Steve, for the hundredth time, this will be okay,” you smiled. “All I have to do is sneak into a Hydra base and swap out a few vials of a deadly chemical.”

“You say that like it’s going to be easy,” Steve replied.

“That’s because it probably is. I’ve broken into some of the highest security buildings on the planet. Including this one,” you pointed out. “Even if Hydra have dramatically upgraded their security systems since you escaped, it’s unlikely that they’ll be anywhere near as good as what Tony’s set up.”

“Last time you went on a mission—”

“Was fifteen years ago,” you interrupted. “I had no training. Since then you’ve made me train every single day. I’ve also spent a few years running from the law, in case you’ve forgotten. I can handle Hydra.”

Steve pouted at you, and you laughed. 

“Steve,” you reached out to take his hand. “I know you’re scared. But I’m not the one going to fight the Red Skull today. This is going to be alright.”

Steve sighed and drew you into a hug. “You’d better be.”

There was a knock at the door, “Hey Cap, Birdie, you ready?”

“Coming, Tony,” Steve called. He took your hand and you smiled as you walked into the lounge room of your apartment, where your kids were waiting.

“Can you please not die?” Peggy asked quickly.

Steve chuckled. “We’ll do our best.”

You smiled and hugged both of them before following Tony. “You two be good. No running off after Hydra this time.”

“No promises,” Peggy replied with a smile.

James chuckled. “I think I’ll sit this one out. A few Hydra goons is one thing, Red Skull and his entire army is another.”

“Glad to hear it,” Steve said with a smile.

“Looks like Sam’s lessons are getting through to the kid,” Tony commented. “Come on, we have to drop Birdie off at Hydra before we go stop Red Skull.”

Tony left the room, and Steve looked at you.

“Ready?” Steve asked.

You squeezed his hand. “Let’s go.”

* * *

James stared at the pile of papers in front of him. He now had four different assignments that his teachers had sent from school, but he couldn’t even focus enough to work out which one he should do first. 

Go back a month or two, and school work was the only thing that James was worried about. He sighed. Finding out your Dad was Captain America and your Mum was one of the world’s most famous criminals certainly changed things.

He had no idea where Peggy was, either. When he decided to do an assignment Peggy had sniffed and left to wander the halls of the Compound. That had been thirty minutes ago. 

James sighed and decided to give up on his assignments. They would still be there once this was over and his parents - and the rest of the Avengers - were safely back in the Compound. Perhaps he could do something else productive, like think about the best way to approach his return to school. 

He honestly wasn’t sure what to expect anymore. After the rumours spreading through the school had made their way online, James had deleted all the social apps from his phone. He didn’t need to know what people were saying, and Peggy was already on defence mode, shutting down or reporting anything she saw that she didn’t like. The downside was that he didn’t know what the rumours where anymore. He was, however, pretty certain that the entire school now knew that he was gay and half his year level was scared that he would try to make a move on them.

Maybe he should just get his Dad to drop him off at school in uniform. Knowing that they were spreading rumours about Captain America’s kid just might get them to keep their thoughts to themselves.

James was just imagining the look on Aidan’s face when he realised that James was related to Captain America when Peggy burst through the door of the apartment.

“James, you have to see this, come on!” Peggy panted, before running out the door.

James sighed. “What is it.”

“Come quick! It’s important.”

James shook his head and followed Peggy to Tony’s lab, where she lead him to the computer his Mum had used to hack Hydra. “Peg, you’re not meant to be here.”

“I know that! Why did you think I went snooping around when Mum and Dad were gone? I wanted to see what was in Hydra’s files.”

James looked at her. “Peggy, you can’t just go through Hydra’s files—"

“Red Skull got a super serum boost,” Peggy interrupted.

“What?” 

“Read,” Peggy pointed to the screen.

James stepped forward and read the report that Peggy had uncovered. They’d known that their Mum had recovered the vials of blood that Red Skull took, but they didn’t realise that Hydra had enough left to work out what was in the famous super-serum.

James frowned. “No one’s ever been able to work out that formula.”

“But Red Skull had his own version of the formula,” Peggy explained, pointing to another section of the report. “They basically turned Dad’s into a super serum booster shot.”

“Which means that Red Skull’s going to be way stronger than they expect.”

“Exactly. We have to go warn them.”

James rolled his eyes. “That’s overly dramatic, Peg. We don’t need to go running into a Hydra army.”

“But Dad—"

James pulled out his phone and started dialling. “We can still warn him without going there.” 

Peggy huffed, and folded her arms. “I want to go.”

“I know, but there are much safer ways to warn them.”

They waited a few more minutes before James gave up. “No answer,” he spoke.

“Can we go now?” Peggy asked.

“No,” James dialled Tony’s number instead. 

“Hey Cap Junior,” the answer came quickly. “What’s up?”

“Long story short, Peggy went snooping through your computer and we just found out that Red Skull used Dad’s blood to improve his super-serum, so he’s basically super Red Skull now. I tried to ring Dad to warn him but he didn’t answer.”

“Oh. Shit, alright. Steve’s com’s cut out a little while back, but I’ll try to get over there and get the message to him.”

James sighed. He was hoping to get a much more positive response from Tony than ‘I’ll try.’

“Hey, it’ll be alright, kid. Your Dad can handle himself.”

James nodded and hung up, then turned back to Peggy.

“So can we go now?” she asked.

“Tony said he’ll try and warn Dad.”

“Trying isn’t good enough, we have to warn him,” Peggy argued. “So can we go now?”

James knew it was a very bad idea - especially when Tony might be able to get the message to the rest of the Avengers, including his father. But did he really want to take the chance that his Dad could end up fighting Red Skull without knowing that he was more powerful than ever before? 

James couldn’t believe he was doing this. “Yeah, alright. Let’s go.”

“Awesome,” Peggy grinned.

The moment after Peggy had spoken, a strange dinging noise sounded throughout the room.

“Rogers Protocol activated,” F.R.I.D.A.Y. spoke.

James looked at Peggy. “What’s the Rogers protocol?” he asked.

“A protocol put in place by Tony for the next time the Captain’s kids are as dumb as he is,” she replied. “You should go to the cupboard in your apartment.”

Peggy shrugged and started walking towards the apartment. James followed closely behind. 

“What do you think it is?” James asked.

“Hopefully not something that stops us from going,” Peggy replied quickly.

“Which cupboard are we looking for, F.R.I.D.A.Y.?” James asked once they’d reached the apartment.

With a little guidance from the F.R.I.D.A.Y., the two of them found two silver suitcases with a note on top. James picked up the note while Peggy reached for one of the suitcases.

The note was written in their mother’s handwriting; _Just so you know, we totally disapprove of whatever you plan to do. At the very least, wear the mask. You don’t need the whole world knowing who you are just yet. Stay safe. Xx_

“James?”

James placed the note aside and looked up to see Peggy, eyes wide and obviously excited as she looked into the suitcase. She turned the case around to reveal it’s contents.

“We have super suits.”


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is a bit shorter than planned - I split this chapter and the next one into two so that I could get something out quicker - hopefully the next chapter will be finished shortly. Enjoy!

Steve dodged another punch and quickly went for the legs, knocking his attacker to the ground. He took the opportunity to knock the Hydra agent out and let out a sigh of relief. As soon as the danger had passed, Steve fumbled through his tactical belt to find the spare earpiece that Tony had made him carry.  
  
His own earpiece had been knocked out by a Hydra agent earlier, but he hadn’t been able to stop fighting to get his backup until now. He was suddenly very grateful that he had one, though, because he’d *really *like to hear that his wife had made it safely out of the Hydra base she had snuck into. He switched the device on and took off at a jog as he fitted it in his ear.  
  
“What’s going on out there?” he asked as he moved.  
  
“Good to have you back, Cap,” Tony replied. “Would you like the bad news or the bad news?"

Steve hesitated, "Is everyone okay?" 

"For now," Tony replied. "The good news is that Birdie made the switch undetected, so Hydra's great chemical weapon is just water. She's on her way back to the Compound now."

"And the bad news?" Steve asked as he started heading towards his target, where the team anticipated Red skull would be releasing the chemical Tony spoke of.

"Well, you know how Hydra got hold of some of your blood? Turns out not all of it was recovered and Red Skull got a super-serum boost, so he's now stronger than ever."

"Fantastic," Steve muttered. "What's the other bad news?"

"Your kids were the ones who found out about the serum. They called to warn you, but none of us could reach you on com's so they decided they'd come warn you in person."

Steve said a few words he wasn't exactly proud of, earning a laugh from Tony. 

"Language," a voice behind him chastised.

Steve sighed and turned to look at his kids. "What the hell are you two doing here?"

"We came to warn-"

"Warn me about the Red Skull, yes, I know. What I meant was why are you doing that _here_?"

"We... wait, how do you know?" Peggy asked.

Steve pointed to his ear. "You think we don't carry backup earpieces? Tony told me the moment I checked back in."

"Oh," Peggy breathed.

Steve sighed, shaking his head. "I appreciate the sentiment, but you two really shouldn't be here. The whole of Hydra is here - they could show up at any..." Steve's voice trailed off, gaze flicking to where the next wave of Hydra agents had appeared.

"You were saying?" James asked. 

Well, at least the kids were wearing the suits Tony had made them. "Stay behind me," Steve instructed, tightening his grip on his shield.

"Dad, you can't take on that many Hydra agents by yourself," Peggy muttered, looking at the group in front of them.

"Watch me," Steve replied as he stared at the Hydra agents and tried to work out the best course of action to take them down and keep his kids safe at the same time. Once he'd planned his attack, he quickly ran into the fight.

One or two agents got past him, but a quick look backwards showed his kids were already defending themselves. He turned his attention back to the larger group knowing that, as much as he didn't like them being in the field, his kids could handle themselves. Steve had been training them to fight since they were very young, and then the rest of the Avengers had gotten involved. Steve was able to teach Peggy the basics of fighting larger opponents, but Natasha helped her understand it in a whole different light - not just how to take down larger, stronger opponents, but how to use their size against them. Sam had done a lot for James as well - he was no longer just a kid with the extra strength and agility of a super-soldier, he knew exactly how to use it, and exactly where his limitations were. And that was before Wanda and Vision helped them learn to use their powers in a way that Steve would have never been able to himself. Thanks to training with the Avengers, his kids were a formidable force.

Of course, that didn't mean he _wanted_ them on the battlefied.

Once the Hydra soldiers were on the ground, he turned back to his kids. "Everyone okay?"

"Yeah, that was easy," Peggy replied. 

James grinned. "I think I've got the breathing under control now, too. No more asthma for me."

Steve rubbed his temples, trying to work out the best course of action. Sure, the kids could handle themselves, but the last thing he wanted was them to be on the battlefield alone, and he had to get to Red Skull before things got too out of hand. He pressed a finger to his earpiece. "Anyone free to babysit my kids?"

Peggy groaned. "Dad, we can take them."

"I never said you couldn't," he responded. "But you can't stay in the middle of a battlefield, and you certainly can't go wandering through it alone."

"Bucky and I are heading your way now," Sam responded through the coms.

"Thanks," Steve responded before turning back to his kids. "We're all going to stay right here until Sam and Bucky get here, and then you two are going straight back to the Compound, okay?"

Peggy screwed her nose up, "Really?"

"Yes, really! This section of the city was evacuated for a reason, you know, which means that you can't be here."

"We can take ourselves home, Dad," James sighed.

"Well forgive me for not wanting to risk you running into half of Hydra on your way." 

Peggy mumbled something to herself, but Steve decided it was best to ignore her for the time being. 

"They wore the suits though, right?" Tony asked through the coms.

"Yes," Steve sighed, "They wore the suits."

"How's the fit?"

"Is that important right now, Tony?" Steve questioned.

"Yeah, I need to know if they need adjusting."

"They're not even meant to know the suits exist," Steve replied.

"What's going on?" Peggy asked.

"Should've included earpieces with the suits," Tony mused. "I'll sort that out for them when this is over."

Steve wanted to argue, but instead he just sighed. "Tony wants to know how well the suits fit."

"Great," Peggy replied.

"Yeah, these things are awesome," James replied.

"You catch that?" Steve asked.

"Yeah, I got it," Tony replied. "How about the masks? Can they see alright? I used the same tech we use for Spidey's but his eyesight is a little different."

"Do you think maybe this is a discussion you can have back at the Compound?" Steve asked.

Tony snorted. "Yeah, fine. Spoilsport."

"Uh... Dad?" Peggy interrupted, nudging him gently. "I think your friend's here."

Steve frowned and turned in the direction that his kids were now staring, and his heart sank. "Get out of here," he told them.

"Oh, so *now *we're allowed to wander around a battlefield on our own," James murmured.

"If I have a choice between you fighting Hydra agents and the Red Skull, I choose the agents," Steve spoke. "Go."

Peggy gulped, "Dad... We can't leave you to fight him on your own."

Steve raised his eyebrows, turning to his daughter, "You can and you will."

"What's going on, Cap?" Sam asked through the coms.

"Skull just showed up," Steve replied. "How far out are you?"

"Ten, maybe twenty minutes. We'll try and pick up the pace."

Steve nodded, watching Red Skull approach. "Bucky and Sam will be here soon," he told the kids, "I can handle Skull until then."

"No offense Dad, but he's stronger than before," Peggy told him.

"Peg's right," James agreed. "You can't do this alone."

"I most certainly can if it means keeping you two safe," Steve responded.

James turned to Peggy, "We're staying regardless of what he says, right?"

"Yep," Peggy confirmed.

Steve turned to look at them, eyebrows raised.

"Just let us back you up until your backup gets here," James told him. "As soon as that happens, we'll get out of the way."

"Steve?" a familiar voice came through Steve's comms, "Don't you dare let our kids get hurt there."

"It's not something I'm planning on," Steve replied before turning back to his children. "You stay behind me," he instructed, "You only interfere if you absolutely have to. If there's even a slight chance that making a move will put you at risk, don't take it."

Peggy and James glanced at each other before nodding at Steve.

"Sam, Buck, get here quick, will you?" Steve murmured.

"Working on it, Cap," Sam replied.

Steve nodded, and turned to face the Red Skull.

"Schmidt," Steve greeted. "How's the beginning of World War three going?"

Red Skull smiled, "You call it war, I call it saving the world," he decided. "But it is going slower than expected. It would seem that the biological agent we developed to help us further our cause isn't working as we had anticipated."

Steve shrugged. "What a shame."

"No, Captain, the shame is that the biological agent we originally developed is missing. Much like the vials of your blood we took. I don't suppose you would know what happened to them, would you?"

"Ah, yes, that would be my wife," Steve grinned. "Turns out she's a bit of a thief."

"A bit?" Peggy snorted.

Red Skull looked behind Steve at the kids before turning back to him and nodding. "Starting the children early, Captain? I'm impressed. I thought you'd be too soft for that."

"They're not here by my choice, believe me," Steve responded.

"Shame. Super soldier children belong on the battlefield, I think."

"We can just disagree on that one," Steve responded. "I'm curious though, if your plan failed, why are you here?"

"I thought that maybe I could at least take down the famous Captain America."

"You couldn't do that before," Steve smirked, "What makes you think that an extra bit of super serum will help you do it now?"

"I don't," Red Skull replied. "I've just been talking to distract you while my army arrives. See?"

Steve looked around and nearly laughed at the sight of the Hydra agents appearing around him. 

"That's awkward, I was trying to distract you as well," Steve admitted. "I guess your guys got here first." He turned around to look at the kids.

"So... we'll take Hydra while you take Red Skull?" James asked.

Steve nodded, tightening his grip on the shield. "Unless you'd like to keep talking about it?" he proposed, looking at Red Skull.

"I think the time for talking is over, Captain. It is a time for action."

Steve sighed, "It was worth a try."

"Alright then," Peggy breathed. "Let's do this."


End file.
